Comparison of three warming devices for the prevention of core hypothermia and post-anaesthesia shivering.

The efficacy of forced air warming with a surgical access blanket in preventing a decrease in core temperature during anaesthesia and post-anaesthesia shivering (PAS) was compared with two widely used interventions comprising forced air warming combined with an upper body blanket, and a circulating water mattress, in a prospective, randomized double-blind study. A total of 90 patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy were studied, 30 in each group. Core temperature was measured 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after induction of anaesthesia. PAS was evaluated every 5 min after emergence from anaesthesia over a period of 1 h. Core temperature fell in all three groups compared with the baseline, but forced air warming using a surgical access blanket was more effective than the other warming methods in ameliorating the temperature decrease. The surgical access blanket was also superior to the circulating water mattress in reducing PAS.

A purse-string suture at the level of internal inguinal ring, taking only the peritoneum leaving the distal sac: is it enough for inguinal hernia in pediatric patients?

PURPOSE: Although laparoscopic surgery in children has expanded in recent years. Laparoscopic hernia repair in children is still debatable. We aimed to summarize and describe our results of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair and techniques among children. METHODS: Between March 2011 and April 2013, 98 children (67 male, 31 female) underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair at the department of surgery. The clinical outcomes were collected retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 22.6 months. Twelve patients were ex-premature infants and a contralateral patent processus vaginalis (PPV) was present in 37 of the 91 unilateral inguinal hernia patients. There were two postoperative complications (transient hydrocele, umbilical port site infection). The mean operative time was 46 min. Recurrence, metachronous hernia and testicular atrophy were not observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary experiences suggest that the laparoscopic purse-string suture of internal inguinal opening of hernia sac could be a safe, effective, and reliable alternative for management of pediatric inguinal hernia.

Profiling of impurities in heroin by capillary electrochromatography and laser-induced fluorescence detection.

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was investigated for the analysis of acidic and neutral impurities in heroin. The phenanthrene-like heroin impurities exhibit high native fluorescence when excited with a doubled argon ion laser (operating at 257 nm). The limit of detection for acetylthebaol is 66 pg ml(-1). CEC-LIF analysis of heroin samples of different geographical origin gave distinguishable peak-enriched chromatograms. A sulfonic acid C12 polymer monolith column provided similar resolving power to a 1.5 mm non-porous ODS column for the isocratic analysis of a refined heroin sample. Analysis of a crude heroin sample via a multi-step gradient CEC resolved a significantly higher number of peaks than gradient high-performance liquid chromatography or micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Application of cDNA microarray technique to detection of gene expression in host cells infected with viruses.

cDNA microarray technique was used to monitor changes in mRNA levels in cells after Hantaan virus (HTNV) infection. The values of the ratio of medians for HTNV and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) at the early stage of infection were compared and found similar, suggesting that the same or similar genes are associated with the early events of infection with either virus. The reproducibility of values of the "ratio of medians" for HTNV was examined. We found that applying cluster analysis to the gene expression data groups efficiently together genes with the same function. Therefore, in analyzing the effects of viral infection on host cells by the cDNA microarray technique, clustering data appear to be necessary for gaining biological meaning from a dump of gene expression profiles obtained from virus-infected cells.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling in human submandibular cells.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a significant lipid messenger modulating many physiological responses. S1P plays a critical role in autoimmune disease and is suggested to be involved in Sjögren's syndrome pathology. However, the mechanism of S1P signaling in salivary glands is unclear. Here we studied the effects of S1P on normal human submandibular gland cells. S1P increased levels of the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)), which was inhibited by pre-treatment with U73122 or 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB). Pre-treated S1P did not inhibit subsequent carbachol-induced [Ca(2+)](i) increase, which suggests that S1P and muscarinic signaling are independent of each other. S1P1, S1P2, and S1P3 receptors SphK1 and SphK2 were commonly expressed in human salivary gland cells. S1P, but not carbachol, induces the expression of interleukin-6 and Fas. Our results suggest that S1P triggers Ca(2+) signaling and the apoptotic pathway in normal submandibular gland cells, which suggests in turn that S1P affects the progression of Sjögren's syndrome.

Dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission: frequency-dependent modulation in the mesoventromedial projection.

Mesoventromedial dopamine neurons projecting from the medial ventral tegmental area to the ventromedial shell of the nucleus accumbens play a role in attributing incentive salience to environmental stimuli that predict important events, and appear to be particularly sensitive to the effects of psychostimulant drugs. Despite the observation that these dopamine neurons make up almost the entire complement of neurons in the projection, stimulating their cell bodies evokes a fast glutamatergic response in accumbens neurons. This is apparently due to dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission, suggested by the extensive coexpression of vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) in the neurons. To examine the interplay between the dopamine and glutamate signals, we used acute quasi-horizontal brain slices made from DAT-YFP mice in which the intact mesoventromedial projection can be visualized. Under current clamp, when dopamine neurons were stimulated repeatedly, dopamine neuron glutamate transmission showed dopamine-mediated facilitation, solely at higher, burst-firing frequencies. Facilitation was diminished under voltage clamp and flipped to inhibition by intracellular Cs(+) or GDPbetaS, indicating that it was mediated postsynaptically. Postsynaptic facilitation was D1 mediated, required activation of NMDA receptors and closure of voltage gated K(+)-channels. When postsynaptic facilitation was blocked, D2-mediated presynaptic inhibition became apparent. These counterbalanced pre- and postsynaptic actions determine the frequency dependence of dopamine modulation; at lower firing frequencies dopamine modulation is not apparent, while at burst firing frequency postsynaptic facilitation dominates and dopamine becomes facilitatory. Dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission may play an important role in encoding the incentive salience value of conditioned stimuli that activate goal-directed behaviors, and may be an important subtract for enduring drug-seeking behaviors.

Paragonimus westermani: pathogenesis and clinical features of infection.

PATHOGENESIS: Although the pathogenesis of human infection of P. westermani is not fully elucidated, experimental infections of cats or dogs could explain the early phase of paragonimiasis. As the larvae of P. westermani penetrate the intestinal wall and localize in the peritoneal cavity there appears to be a considerable migration inside the abdominal cavity before they direct toward the chest cavity through the diaphragm. Approximately 20 days following experimental infection with metacercariae by oral route first pathological changes can be detected in the pleural cavity with turbid or haemorrhagic exudation containing also numerous pus cells. Also juvenile parasites are often found in the pleural cavity. The diaphragm is another organ that is heavily affected by penetrating larvae and by surrounding intense inflammatory reactions that develop about 25 days after infection. The worms finally get into the lung parenchyma and induce acute exudative pneumonitis and haemorrhage. They gradually mature and are encysted, thereby producing zones of active inflammation with exudate and of collagenous fibrous tissue. The worms are found usually in pairs. When grown up, these worms are often found inside the bronchial lumen lined with bronchial epithelia of squamous metaplastic character. The cysts consist of the parasite and of dense collagenous connective tissue including various inflammatory cells and eosinophils. CLINICAL FEATURES: The most remarkable clinical feature is cough and blood-tinged sputum. In 1907 paragonimiasis was classified into 4 types: chest paragonimiasis, cerebral paragonimiasis, abdominal paragonimiasis and generalized paragonimiasis. The clinical symptoms of chest paragonimiasis are haemoptysis in some cases, and quite a few patients complain of difficulty in breathing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Diagnosis and epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Korea.

Toxoplasma gondii can cause congenital as well as postnatal toxoplasmosis in humans and animals, and thereby elicit various kinds and grades of clinical manifestations. In the human host, especially the congenital type gives rise to serious complications and sequelae such as blindness and hydrocephalus. Serological tests such as Sabin-Feldman dye test, indirect hemagglutination test, indirect fluorescent antibody test, indirect latex agglutination test, agglutination test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and detection of circulating antigens or antibodies are popularly used for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. In Korea, several local surveys during the past 20-30 years have shown that the antibody positive rates of patients in general hospitals ranged from 1.9% to 7.2%. Special clinical attention should be paid to immunocompromised patients, since immunosuppression is known to activate and aggravate latent toxoplasmosis, and in such cases the patients are often led to encephalitis, coma and death.

Inhibition of Con A-induced lymphocyte proliferation by peritoneal exudate of Toxoplasma gondii-infected mice.

The presence of biological response modifiers (BRM)-like effect was confirmed in peritoneal exudate (PE) of Toxoplasma gondii-infected ICR mice which inhibited Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced peritoneal lymphocyte (PL) proliferation. During 5 days of PL incubation with 10 micrograms/ml Con A with or without PE, 3H-thymidine uptake was measured for the last 24 hrs. Compared to uninduced control, PL proliferated by 7.3-fold with Con A induction. When PE of infected mice was added, PL proliferation was inhibited by 74.0 +/- 11.9% whereas inhibition by PE of normal mice was 16.4 +/- 8.3%. Inhibitory effect of PE increased exponentially from 3 days up to 4-5 days of survival after the infection. Inhibitory activity of PE was decreased concentration-dependently. Also the inhibition was diminished when the PE was treated with heat of 95 degrees C for 10 min or precipitated with 10% trichloracetic acid (TCA). In SDS-PAGE of PE, many minor bands appeared newly. Heat-labile protein molecule in PE exerted inhibitory activity to Con A-induced lymphocyte proliferation.

[A case of paragonimiasis in the abdominal subcutaneous tissue].

A 35-year-old housewife living in Seoul complained of a recurrent palpable abdominal mass. Excisional biopsy was done. The cystic mass showed an immature worm of Paragonimus sp. in the cyst cavity. It measured 7 x 4 mm and showed well-developed oral and ventral sucker, uterus, 5-branched ovary and intestine after acetocarmine staining. But the testes and vitelline duct were not developed fully and there was no egg in the uterus. The patient has eaten raw fish. The case of ectopic paragonimiasis in the abdominal subcutaneous tissue was presented.

Characterization of proteases of Toxoplasma gondii.

The proteases of Toxoplasma gondii were purified partially and characterized for some biochemical properties including various chromatographic patterns, major catalytic classes, and conditions to promote the activity of these enzymes. When Toxoplasma extract was incubated with 3H-casein at various pH, peak hydrolysis of casein was observed at pH 6.0 and at pH 8.5. Proteases working at pH 6.0 and at pH 8.5 were purified partially by conventional methods of chromatographies of DE52 anion exchange, Sephadex G-200 gel permeation, and hydroxylapatite chromatography. Partially purified enzymes were tested by site-specific inhibitors and promotors. The protease working at pH 6.0 was inactivated by iodoacetamide with LD50 of 10(-3) M and promoted by dithiothreitol, while the protease working at pH 8.5 was inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride with LD50 of 10(-5) M and was promoted by ATP (excess ATP beyond 2 mM inhibited the activity reversely). The protease of pH 8.5 had the activity of ATPase which might exert the energy to its action. Therefore the former was referred to as a cysteinyl acid protease and the latter, ATP-dependent neutral serine protease.

Antibody reaction of human anti-Toxoplasma gondii positive and negative sera with Neospora caninum antigens.

Anti-Neospora caninum antibody was detected in anti-Toxoplasma gondii positive and negative human sera by ELISA, western blot and immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Twelve cases out of 172 (6.7%) Toxoplasma-positive sera cross-reacted with both T. gondii and N. caninum antigens, and one out of 110 Toxoplasma-negative sera reacted with N. caninum antigen by ELISA. By western blot, all 12 sera reacted with T. gondii antigens with various banding patterns but specifically at 30 kDa (SAG1) and 22 kDa (SAG2) bands. With N. caninum antigen, the number of reactive bands was reduced, however a 43 kDa band reacted in three cases in Toxoplasma-positive sera in addition to one in Toxoplasma-negative control sera. All sera of the Toxoplasma-positive group labeled surface membrane of T. gondii, but reacted differently with N. caninum. Fluorescence was detected in surface membrane, subcellular organelles, or both in N. caninum. And one case in the Toxoplasma-negative group also reacted with N. caninum strongly in subcellular organelles. This suggested that the antibody against N. caninum may be present in human sera although the positive rate was very low in this study. The possibility of human infection with N. caninum remains to be evaluated further.

Ultrahigh-resolution plastic graded-index fused image plates.

Fiber-optic imaging systems such as the medical endoscope, the boroscope, the fused-image faceplate, and the image conduit are now made from glass step-index (SI) fibers, and the image resolution of the SI fiber-optic imaging systems is limited to ~5 microm. Ultrahigh-resolution fiber-optic fused-image plates with fiber diameter sizes of 5 and 2.8 microm were fabricated with plastic graded-index (GRIN) fibers. The measured image resolutions of the 5-microm SI and GRIN-based guides were comparable, and the resolution of the plastic GRIN image guides improved as the fiber diameter was reduced from 5 to 2.8 microm.

Polymorphism of complement component I in Mongoloid populations: a new genetic variant IF A2.

The genetic polymorphism of the complement component I (IF) was investigated in 282 Chinese, 239 Koreans and 198 Japanese. The 3 common IF phenotypes (A, AB and B) and a new rare IF phenotype (BA2) were observed. The obtained allele frequencies are as follows: IF*A = 0.0993 and IF*B = 0.9007 in Chinese; IF*A = 0.0921 and IF*B = 0.9079 in Koreans; IF*A = 0.0985, IF*B = 0.8990 and IF*A2 = 0.0025 in Japanese. These 3 Mongoloid populations showed a much higher degree of IF polymorphism than Caucasian populations.

Inhibition of entry of Toxoplasma gondii into MDCK cells by fetal bovine serum.

We experienced the partial inhibition of entry of Toxoplasma gondii into MDCK cells when the FBS was depleted from media. MDCK cells and Toxoplasma (RH strain) were co-cultured, the penetration was inhibited up to 60-80% with concentration-dependence of FBS. Inhibitory effect was clear when the conc. of FBS was over 1% (v/v) with 50% inhibition conc. of 5%. When Toxoplasma was pre-incubated with FBS and then applied to MDCK cells, there were no inhibitory effect, but when FBS was added to Toxoplasma-MDCK co-culture, the time of adding was critical with rapid inhibition. And when FBS was further treated with heat (95 degrees C, 10 min), the inhibitory effect was decreased slightly in both raw and inactivated FBS. The FBS factor(s) might participate to neutralize secreted materials which enhancing penetration or intervene between receptor-ligand binding at the moment of entry through sterically rather than functionally.

Lymphadenitis in experimental murine toxoplasmosis induced by intramuscular injection of tachyzoites.

When tachyzoites (RH strain) of Toxoplasma gondii are injected intramuscularly, experimental mice survive up to 7 days, 1-2 days longer than those infected intraperitoneally. We observed sequential histopathological changes in inguinal lymph nodes after intramuscular injection of tachyzoites to thighs of specific pathogen free (SPF) mice. Initial findings on 1 or 3 days after the injection were reactive germinal centers, distended sinuses and epithelioid cell clusters in cortical and paracortical regions. Later on 5 days after the injection, however, effacement of nodal structure with depletion of cells and focal necrosis were observed. Necrotizing lymphadenitis in the experimental murine toxoplasmosis suggests the causal relation between T. gondii infection and the human disease.

Distribution of human Zn-alpha-2-glycoprotein types in Chinese and Korean populations.

The genetic variation in Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein (ZAG) was investigated by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting. The samples comprised 590 Chinese from 2 localities (Shenyang: n = 390; Kaohsiung: n = 200) and 873 Koreans from 2 localities (Seoul: n = 523; Cheju: n = 350). The allele frequencies were: ZAG*1 = 0.9962, ZAG*5 = 0.0038 in Shenyang; ZAG*1 = 1.0000 in Kaohsiung; ZAG*1 = 0.9971, ZAG*3 = 0.0029 in Seoul, and ZAG*1 = 0.9929, ZAG*3 = 0.0071 in Cheju.

Effects of pyrimidine salvage inhibitors on uracil incorporation of Toxoplasma gondii.

Metabolic inhibitors which act in the process of pyrimidine salvage influenced on the uracil incorporation into nucleic acids of Toxoplasma. Inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase, pyrimethamine and methotrexate, and inhibitors of thymidylate synthase, fluoro-uridine, fluoro-dUMP and fluoro-uracil, diminished isotopic uracil uptake in dose-dependent manners. Azauridine which suppresses de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis did not affect the salvage even in a relatively high dose. These results suggested that the activation of uracil salvage should be closely related with the function of TMP biosynthetic enzymes. The pattern of thymidine uptake had no differences between control HL-60 cells and Toxoplasma infected cells, which did not reflect the specific proliferation of Toxoplasma. It can be exploited to characterize the effects of various compounds related with the proliferation of Toxoplasma, especially its DNA synthesis.

Conduct-as-cast polymer monoliths as separation media for capillary electrochromatography.

We have developed porous polymer monoliths (PPMs) that are versatile and robust reversed-phase chromatography media. The PPMs are cast-to-shape, UV-cured polymers that form uniform packings within pretreated glass capillaries and fused-silica chips. No applied pressure is ever needed to flush the PPMs since they support electroosmotic flow as cast. Such characteristics make the PPMs useful for chip-based devices. Our results show efficiencies greater than or equal to 150,000 plates/m for both capillary and chip-based separations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. By changing the monomers, the hydrophobicity of the polymers, and the direction of the electroosmotic flow can be altered without degrading chromatographic performance. We describe here the development of these acrylate-based materials along with both physical and chromatographic characterization.

Tight junctional inhibition of entry of Toxoplasma gondii into MDCK cells.

Various conditions of cultures were performed to investigate the role of tight junctions formed between adjacent MDCK cells on the entry of Toxoplasma. When MDCK cells were cocultured with excess number of Toxoplasma at the seeding density of 1 x 10(5), 3 x 10(5), and 5 x 10(5) cells/ml for 4 days, the number of intracellular parasites decreased rapidly as the host cells reached saturation density, i.e., the formation of tight junctions. When the concentration of calcium in the media (1.8 mM in general) was shifted to 5 microM that resulted in the elimination of tight junction, the penetration of Toxoplasma increased about 2-fold (p less than 0.05) in the saturated culture, while that of non-saturated culture decreased by half. Trypsin-EDTA which was treated to conquer the tight junctions of saturated culture favored the entry of Toxoplasma about 2.5-fold (p less than 0.05) compared to the non-treated, while that of non-saturated culture decreased to about one fifth. It was suggested that the tight junctions of epithelial cells play a role as a barrier for the entry of Toxoplasma and Toxoplasma penetrate into host cells through membrane structure-specific, i.e., certain kind of receptors present on the basolateral rather than apical surface of MDCK cells.