Quantification of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons is essential for the preclinical study of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, manual analysis of immunohistochemical (IHC) images is labor-intensive and has less reproducibility due to the lack of objectivity. Therefore, several automated methods of IHC image analysis have been proposed, although they have limitations of low accuracy and difficulties in practical use. Here, we developed a convolutional neural network-based machine learning algorithm for TH+ cell counting. The developed analytical tool showed higher accuracy than the conventional methods and could be used under diverse experimental conditions of image staining intensity, brightness, and contrast. Our automated cell detection algorithm is available for free and has an intelligible graphical user interface for cell counting to assist practical applications. Overall, we expect that the proposed TH+ cell counting tool will promote preclinical PD research by saving time and enabling objective analysis of IHC images.

Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) and acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) are common diseases caused by human adenoviruses (HAdV) and enteroviruses, respectively, in South Korea. However, there are limited studies on the molecular epidemiology of viral conjunctivitis in South Korea. The main objective of this study was to characterize the genotypes of adenoviruses and enteroviruses causing viral conjunctivitis in the southwest region of South Korea. We collected conjunctival swabs from 492 patients with suspected cases of viral conjunctivitis from 6 ophthalmic hospitals in Gwangju Metropolitan City, in South Korea, between 2012 and 2016. Of the 492 samples tested, HAdVs and enteroviruses were detected in 249 samples (50.6%) and 19 samples (3.9%), respectively. The genotype analysis detected HAdV-8 in 183 samples (73.5%), HAdV-37 in 14 samples (5.6%), and HAdV-3, and HAdV-4 in 9 samples (3.6%) each. We detected coxsackievirus A24 (CVA24) and coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) in 8 samples (42.0%) and 4 samples (21.0%), respectively. We also reported for the first time HAdV-56-infected cases of EKC in South Korea. Furthermore, we found three cases of coinfection with HAdV and enterovirus genotypes in our samples. HAdV-8 and CVA24, the main causes of EKC and AHC, respectively, worldwide, were also found to be the predominant genotypes in our study.
Adenoviridae ; Adenoviruses, Human ; Coinfection ; Conjunctivitis, Acute Hemorrhagic ; Conjunctivitis, Viral* ; Enterovirus ; Genotype ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Keratoconjunctivitis ; Korea* ; Molecular Epidemiology*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify influencing factors on service quality provided by care helpers working for the elderly in long term care. METHODS: The data were collected using self-reported questionnaire from 221 care helpers working in long-term care facility or home care service center. The data were analyzed using multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 17.0 program. RESULTS: There were significant differences in service quality depending on the health status, intimacy level, pleasure level, job education, and turnover intention. Factors influencing service quality were gender, intimacy level with elderly, type of working place and job satisfaction with R2 value of 17.3%. The most influencing factor was intimacy level (beta=.249), followed by job satisfaction (beta=.208), gender (beta=.170), and type of working place (beta=.146). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the effort to improve the service quality of care helper should be focused on helping intimacy building between the elderly and the care helper. Also, a more effective way to improve service quality would be intervening for care helpers providing institutional care.
Aged ; Home Care Services ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Intention ; Job Satisfaction ; Long-Term Care ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pleasure ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify influencing factors on service quality provided by care helpers working for the elderly in long term care. METHODS: The data were collected using self-reported questionnaire from 221 care helpers working in long-term care facility or home care service center. The data were analyzed using multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 17.0 program. RESULTS: There were significant differences in service quality depending on the health status, intimacy level, pleasure level, job education, and turnover intention. Factors influencing service quality were gender, intimacy level with elderly, type of working place and job satisfaction with R2 value of 17.3%. The most influencing factor was intimacy level (beta=.249), followed by job satisfaction (beta=.208), gender (beta=.170), and type of working place (beta=.146). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the effort to improve the service quality of care helper should be focused on helping intimacy building between the elderly and the care helper. Also, a more effective way to improve service quality would be intervening for care helpers providing institutional care.
Aged ; Home Care Services ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Intention ; Job Satisfaction ; Long-Term Care ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pleasure ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study was designed to construct a structural model explaining depression in university students. METHODS: Data were collected from 1,640 university students by questionnaire, and analyzed using AMOS 5.0 to test the hypothetical model. RESULTS: Fitness statistics for the modified model were GFI=.93, AGFI=.89, NFI=.91, and RMSEA=.081. All the 12 paths in the modified model proved to be statistically significant. Depression of university students accounted for 52% of the covariance by the factors. The factor that had the most influence on depression was individual vulnerability, and followed by sequence order, stress, social support, coping, and self-efficacy. Depression was influenced directly by individual vulnerability, stress, social support, and coping, and indirectly by individual vulnerability, stress, social support, and selfefficacy. CONCLUSION: A screening and management system for the high risk group is needed to effectively prevent depression and reduce rate of depression in university students. Detailed support programs which specifically deal with prevailing stressors should be developed to effectively reduce the harmful effects of individual vulnerability and stress. It is anticipated that the model constructed in this study could be utilized as a reference in developing various strategies to prevent and intervene depression in university students.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; *Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Models, Psychological ; Questionnaires ; Self Efficacy ; Social Support ; Stress, Psychological ; Students/*psychology ; Universities ; Young Adult

Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma is a rare form of primary liver cancer, featuring both hepatocellular and biliary epithelial differentiations. An intrahepatic tumor may be considered as a metastatic lesion. It has been suggested in the literature that the likelihood of metastasis in the cirrhotic liver is lower than that in the non-cirrhotic liver. A rare case of combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma and second primary colon adenocarcinoma in a 67-year-old male patient with liver cirrhosis is presented. Histologically, the intrahepatic mass was composed of a spindle cell sarcomatous component; a hepatocellular carcinoma component; and a cholangiocarcinoma component. There were focal transitional regions among the different components. Immunohistochemically, the cholangiocarcinoma component of the intrahepatic mass showed positive reactions for CK-7 but negative reactions for CK-20. The adenocarcinoma of the colon showed positive reactions for CK-20 but negative reactions for CK-7.
Adenocarcinoma/*pathology ; Aged ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/*pathology ; *Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma/*pathology ; Colonic Neoplasms/*pathology ; English Abstract ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*pathology ; Male ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/*pathology

BACKGROUND: Bulla is an air-filled space within the lung parenchyma resulting from deterioration of the alveolar tissue. Molecular mechanism of the formation of the bulla is not well described. Fibroblast growth factor(FGF)-7, bone morphogenetic protein(BMP) receptor, and transforming growth factor(TGF)-beta receptor are known to have a stimulatory or inhibitory role in the lung formation. We investigated to see if these growth factor or cytokine receptors are involved in the bulla formation by immunohistochemical staining of bullous lung tissues from patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Bullous lung tissues were obtained from 31 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, including 30 males and 1 female from 15 to 39 years old. The bullous tissues were obtained by video-thoracoscopic surgery and/or mini-thoracotomy and fixed in formalin. Blocks of the specimens were embedded with paraffin and cut into 5~6 micrometer thick slices. The sections were deparaffinized and hydrated and then incubated with primary antibodies against FGF-7, BMP-RII, or TGF-RII. RESULT: Of the 31 patients, 24 were TGF-RII positive including 18 strong and 6 weak positives. Observation with high magnification showed that strong immunostaining was detected in the boundary region between bullous and normal lung tissues. In contrast, all of the sections were negative with FGF-7 or BMP-RII antibodies. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that overexpression of TGF-beta RII may be involved in the formation of bulla, although further molecular studies are needed to find out more detailed molecular mechanisms.
Adult ; Antibodies ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; Formaldehyde ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Paraffin ; Pneumothorax* ; Receptors, Cytokine ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

PURPOSE: The evolution of cirrhosis from chronic inflammatory liver disease represents a dysmorphogenic "response to injury". It is important to understand how inflammatory cytokines, known to be associated with such responses, influence the growth of different cell populations within the liver. The purpose of this work is to establish a role of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) in liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy in N-nitrosodieth ylamine (DEN)-induced cirrhotic rats. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. Liver cirrhosis was induced using DEN (100 mg/kg) given once a week for 6 weeks. In Group I (n=18), 70% partial hepatectomy was accomplished and then the resected liver weight, regenerated liver weight, serum IL-6, and serum GOT/GPT was determined on postoperative days 1, 2, and 4 and at intervals. In Group II (n=19), partial hepatectomy was carried out and Laennec, a hepatocyte growth promoter, was injected on preoperative 1 day and postoperative days 1 and 2. RESULTS: The value of serum GOT in Group I was 415 IU/ml on the first postoperative day and peaked at 1870 IU/ml on the third day. In Group II, the level of serum GOT was 404 IU/ml on the first postoperative day and peaked at 593 IU/ml on the third day, then decreased gradually thereafter. The value of serum IL-6 was 106.54 pg/ml on the first postoperative day, 130.59 pg/ml on the 14th postoperative day in Group I, however in Group II, it was 40 pg/ml on thefirst postoperative day and then decreased to 29.18 pg/ml on the 14th postoperative day. The percentages of regenerated weights of liver at intervals following the 70% partial hepatectomy was 55.1% on the first postoperative day, and 102.3% on the 4th week in Group I and 60.4% on the first postoperative day, 95.8% on the first week postoperatively, and 116.1% on the 2nd week in Group II. CONCLUSION: As the value of serum IL-6 was sustained below 40 pg/ml, which was the value on the first postopeative day following partial hepatectomy with Laennec treatment, the resected liver was rapidly regenerated and restored to normal liver function. In cirrhotic liver, regenerative activity was related to serum IL-6 level, so downregulation of serum IL-6 might be helpful to the regeneration of resected liver.
Animals ; Cytokines ; Down-Regulation ; Fibrosis ; Hepatectomy* ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Interleukin-6* ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Regeneration* ; Liver* ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Regeneration ; Weights and Measures

Dermatofibroma with granular cells is composed mainly of spindle shaped cells mixed with in-conspicuous foamy cells that contain granular cytoplasm. We present a case of dermatofibroma with granular cells in a 36-year-old male who visited our clinic to evaluate a slow-growing nodule on the medial side of the left lawer leg. He have had the nodule for five years and sometimes felt an itching sensation. Biopsy of the nodule identified a dermal nodular tumor showing cellular spindle cell proliferation admixed with peripheral foamy histiocytes. With the immunohistochemical staining, the granular cell was positive for alpha-1-antitrypsin and CD68, and negative for S-100. A few electron-dense granules were seen in the cytoplasm on the electronmicroscopic study. These results suggested that the granular cells originated from histiocytes.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Cell Proliferation ; Cytoplasm ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous* ; Humans ; Leg ; Male ; Pruritus ; Sensation

BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study were to determine how gas exchanges indices including alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference(A-aDO2), PaO2/PAO2, PaO2/FIO2 and pulmonary shunt ratio (QS/QT) were changed after open heart surgery according to the change of inspired fraction of oxygen(FIO2) and to identify the reliable parameters for postoperative respiratory care in the intensive care unit. METHODS: Blood gases were measured from radial and pulmonary arterial blood for arterial and mixed venous blood in 15 patients, with a mean age of 45.1 yr, after open heart surgery, in mechanically ventilated states with 1.0, 0.6 and 0.4 of FIO2 with normocarbia maintained (PaCO2 30~40 mmHg). Above mentioned gas exchange indices were calculated and compared. RESULTS: After decreasing the FIO2 from 1.0 to 0.6 and 0.4 in order, the major changes were significant decrease in pulmonary shunt ratio : 24+/-3%, 17+/-3% and 11+/-3% at FIO2 1.0, 0.6 and 0.4, respectively and A-aDO2 : 347+/-34 mmHg, 184+/-16 mmHg and 94+/-11 mmHg at FIO2 1.0, 0.6 and 0.4 respectively, while PaO2/PAO2 showed the only significant increase at FIO2 0.4 compared with those at FIO2 1.0 and PaO2/FIO2 was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of open heart surgical patient with cardiovascular stability, pulmonary shunt ratio and A-aDO2 appear to be more sensitive on gas exchange, but the oxygen tension indices such as PaO2/PAO2 as well as PaO2/FIO2 might be suggested as possible alternatives for the shunt measurement.
Gases ; Heart* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Oxygen ; Thoracic Surgery*