• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.7 s.276
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• pp.485-491
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• 2007

Background: Thoracoplasty has become a rarity in current clinical practice, although it has been widely employed for well over a century as a procedure for reducing the capacity of the thoracic cavity. Yet we have perform tailoring thoracoplasty following or concomitant with pulmonary resection in 20 patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the early and late clinical results and also the significance of tailoring thoracoplasty. Material and Method: From March 1995 to June 2005, modified thoracoplasty following or concomitant with pulmonary resection was performed in 20 patients out of a total of 298 pulmonary resections for closing air leaks and for treating persistent pleural space following pulmonary resections, and to tailor the thoracic cavity to accept a diminished lung volume. Of the 20 patients, 14 patients had tailoring thoracoplasty performed concomitant with pulmonary resection, and the remaining 6 patients also had tailoring thoracoplasty performed following pulmonary resection. The subjects ages ranged from 24 to 77 (mean $59.1{\pm}6.4$) and a male preponderance was noted (17 : 3); the number of left and right surgeries was equal. The preoperative primary underlying diseases were lung cancer in 7 patients, pneumothorax with giant bullous change in 6 patients, bronchiectasis in 2 patients, previous pulmonary tuberculosis associated with aspergilloma in 2 patients, empyema with fibrothorax in 2 patients and multiple lung abscesses & destruction due to previous trauma in 1 patient. The operative methods were apicolysis and subperiosteal removal of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th ribs (the costochondral junction to the posterior portions of the ribs) with preservation of the first rib and compression of the anterior chest via cotton bags and elastic bandages. Result: The mean duration of the air leaks after thoracoplasty was $1.6{\pm}0.2$ days (range: $0{\sim}7$ days) and the mean duration of an indwelling chest tube was 7 days (range: $5{\sim}11$ days); the mean duration of hospitalization was $19.2{\pm}2.8$ days (range: $8{\sim}47$ days). The postoperative complications were wound infection (2) and pneumonia (2); reoperation was done due to bleeding (1) in one patient who underwent concomitant thoracoplasty and there was 1 case of wound infection (1) after postresection thoracoplasty. The mortality was 1 patient in the early phase and 4 patients in the late phase. Conclusion: We conclude that tailoring thoracoplasty may be performed to close anticipated persistent pleural spaces and to accommodate the diminished lung volume with acceptable cosmetic results when this procedure is combined with pulmonary resection in selected patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.90-99
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• 1998

Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify the serum cytokine pattern in patients with chronic HBV infection in terms of their clinical state. Methods: Intravenous blood samples were taken from 35 patients who were seropositive for HBsAg for at least 6 months and 7 healthy controls. Samples were initially tested for serum aminotransferases and serologic markers for hepatitis B virus by EIA. Serum levels of interleukin(IL)-2, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$), interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$), IL-4, and IL-10 were measured by ELISA. Results: Among 35 patients, seropositive for HBeAg was 20 and for anti-HBe was 15. The histologic diagnosis of 19 patients underwent liver biopsy were chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) in 10 and chronic active hepatitis (CAH) in 9. Serum IL-10 level in patients seropositive for HBeAg was significantly higher than that in patients seropositive for anti-HBe (p<0.05). All measured cytokine levels in patients with CAH were higher than those of patients with CPH. High values of all measured cytokines except IL-4 were seen in patients with AST and ALT > 100 U/L. High level of IL-4 was seen in patients with normal aminotransferase levels. Conclusion: These results were thought to indicate that anti-inflammatory Th2-like cytokine (IL-10) production in chronic HBV infection is related to circulating HBeAg rather than activity of hepatitis and that Th1 cytokines seem to be associated with the increasing activity of hepatitis.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.56-78
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• 1998

Objective: Chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) occurs in 6% to 10% of population in Korea. In ethinic communities where prevalence of chronic infection is high such as Korea, transmission of hepatitis B infection is either vertical (ie, by perinatal infection) or by close family contact (usually from mothers or siblings) during the first 5 years of life. The development of chronic hepatitis B infection is increasingly more common the earlier a person is exposed to the virus, particularly in fetal and neonatal life. And it progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in severe liver damage and perinatal infection. Histopathology of CHB is important when evaluating the final outcomes. A numerical scoring system which is a semiquantitatively assessed objective reproducible classification of chronic viral hepatitis, is a valuable tool for statistical analysis when predicting the outcome and evaluating antiviral and other therapies. In this study, a numerical scoring system (Ludwig system) was applied and compared with the conventional histological classification of De Groute. And the comparative analysis of cinical findings, family history, serology, and liver function test by histopathological findings in chronic hepatitis B of children was done. Methods: Ninety nine patients [mean age=9 years (range=17 months to 16 years)] with clinical, biochemical, serological and histological patterns of chronic HBV infection included in this study. Five of these children had hepatocelluar carcinoma. They were 83 male and 16 female children. They all underwent liver biopsies and histologic evaluation was performed by one pathologist. The biopsy specimens were classified, according to the standard criteria of De Groute as follows: normal, chronic lobular hepatitis (CLH), chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH), mild to severe chronic active hepatitis (CAH), or active cirrhosis, inactive cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). And the biopsy specimens were also assessed and scored semiquantitatively by the numerical scoring Ludwig system. Serum HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc (IgG, IgM), and HDV were measured by radioimunoassays. Results: Male predominated in a proportion of 5.2:1 for all patients. Of 99 patients, 2 cases had normal, 2 cases had CLH, 22 cases had CPH, 40 cases had mild CAH, 19 cases had moderate CAH, 1 case had severe CAH, 7 cases had active cirrhosis, 1 case had inactive cirrhosis, and 5 cases had HCC. The mean age, sex distribution, symptoms, signs, and family history did not differ statistically among the different histologic groups. The numerical scoring system was correlated well with the conventional histological classification. The histological activity evaluated by both the conventional classification and the scoring system was more severe as the levels of serum aminotransferases were higher. In contrast, the levels of serum aminotransferases were not useful for predicting the degree of histologic activity because of its wide range overlapping. When the histological activity was more severe and especially the cirrhosis more progressing, the prothrombin time was more prolonged. The histological severity was inversely related with the duration of seroconversion of HBeAg. Conclusions: The histological activity could not be accurately predicted by clinical and biochemical findings, but by the proper histological classification of the numerical scoring system for the biopsy specimen. The numerical scoring system was correlated well with the conventional histological classification, and it seems to be a valuable tool for the statistical analysis when predicting the outcome and evaluating effects of antiviral and other therapies in chronic hepatitis B in children.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2667-2672
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• 2016

Background: Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by persistent infections with a restricted set of human papillomaviruses (HPV). Cancer of the cervix is the third or even the second most common cancer in women worldwide, more than 85% of the cases occurring in developing countries, such as China and India, including the Republic of Kazakhstan. The purpose was to determine the HPV type distribution to evaluate efficacy of vaccination and adjust cancer prevention strategy in Western Kazakhstan in the future. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of data obtained from PCR laboratories in 4 regional centers for the time period covering 12 months, 2013-2014, using AmpliSens$^{(R)}$ Real-Time PCR kits for HPV testing of 12 genotypes (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, and 59). Results: A total of 1,661 persons were HPV tested within 2013-14, but a proprotion examined for 16 and 18 genotypes only (563) was not been included for statistic analysis of distribution and ratio of the most common genotypes. Males accounted for only a small number (N=90 in total). Conclusions: Total number of the HPV-positive appeared to be 26.0%, or 286 of N=1098. Types distribution was as follows: type 16 (10.7%), 39 (5.83%), 51 (5.27%), 31 (4.85%), 56 (4.58%), 18 (3.61%), 59 (2.64%), 58 (2.22%), 35 (1.94%), 33 (1.25%). Overall the HPV infection was highest in 16-29 years old (62.4%) and decreased with age. Total prevalence of the HR-HPVs amongst male population was 21.4% with top five types 16, 18, 39, 51, 31. Trends forcorrelations between Aktau site and type 33 (Cramer's V 0.2029), between Caucasian ethnicity and type 33 (Cramer's V .1716), and between European ethnicities in Uralsk and type 45 (Cramer's V .1752) were found. Of N 563 tested separately for 16 or 18 types, 13.6% were positive. As a whole, the distribution of 16/18 types had a ratio of 3.53:1. Given the vaccine-targeted type 16 is widely spread amongst this regional population, HPV immunization program of adolescent girls 10-13 years should be implemented appropriately.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.469-478
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• 2020

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) propagation is highly dependent on cellular proteins. To identify the host factors involved in HCV propagation, we previously performed protein microarray assays and identified the LIM and SH3 domain protein 1 (LASP-1) as an HCV NS5A-interacting partner. LASP-1 plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and protein-protein interactions. Alteration of LASP-1 expression has been implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the functional involvement of LASP-1 in HCV propagation and HCV-induced pathogenesis has not been elucidated. Here, we first verified the protein interaction of NS5A and LASP-1 by both in vitro pulldown and coimmunoprecipitation assays. We further showed that NS5A and LASP-1 were colocalized in the cytoplasm of HCV infected cells. NS5A interacted with LASP-1 through the proline motif in domain I of NS5A and the tryptophan residue in the SH3 domain of LASP-1. Knockdown of LASP1 increased HCV replication in both HCV-infected cells and HCV subgenomic replicon cells. LASP-1 negatively regulated viral propagation and thereby overexpression of LASP-1 decreased HCV replication. Moreover, HCV propagation was decreased by wild-type LASP-1 but not by an NS5A binding-defective mutant of LASP-1. We further demonstrated that LASP-1 was involved in the replication stage of the HCV life cycle. Importantly, LASP-1 expression levels were increased in persistently infected cells with HCV. These data suggest that HCV modulates LASP-1 via NS5A in order to regulate virion levels and maintain a persistent infection.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.149-155
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• 1992

55 consecutive anatrophic nephrolithotomies on 53 patients performed between July, 1983 and June, 1990 were reviewed. The patients(36 male and 19 female) ranged in age from 3 to 72years. The operation time averaged 219.8 minutes with a range of 120-330 minutes, and the ischemic time ranged between 20 and 90 minutes, with a mean of 43.5 minutes. Postoperative complications developed in 18 patients, which were such as persistent urinary tract infection in 5cases(9.4%), atelectasis in 4(7.5%), transient urine leak in 2(3.8%), delayed bleeding in 2(3.8%) and urinary retention in 2(3.8%), Postoperative residual stones were identified in 15(27.3%), but in 8 of these 15patients stones were delivered spontaneously and thus 48 of 55 cases(87.3%) became stone free, The recurrence of stone was noted in 2 out of 48 patients during the short followup period. Anatrophic nephrolithotomy seems to be an effective method compared to other procedure because of decreasing recurrence of stone by complete stone removal and reconstruction of abnormal collecting system.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.333-341
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• 1990

To investigate bovine leukosis virus (BLV) infection in the cattle rearing in a dairy farm where a case of bovine lymphosarcoma had been identified several years ago, the 196 Holstein cattle including newborn calves to 12 years of age were tested. The BLV antibody test and peripheral lymphocyte count for bovine leukosis were carried out by the immunodiffusion (ID) test and Bendixen's Kep. These tests were performed 2 to 4 times at the interval of 3 to 5 months. The observed results were as follows: 1. The positive rates of BLV-antibody in the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th tests were 23.3%, 28.1%, 49.0% and 55.7%, respectively. The conversion rates from negative to positive in the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th tests were 8.9%, 41.4%, and 20.0%, respectively. Results showed that the highest conversion rate was observed at the 3rd test which was conducted after winter. The highest positive rate by ID test were observed in 4 year old cattle in the 1st and 2nd tests, and in 2 year old herd in the 3rd and 4th tests. 2. In hematological test by Bendixen's Key, the positive and suspicious rates in the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th tests were 5.8 and 7.8%, 8.3 and 6.6%, 8.7 and 10.1%, 10.8 and 19.6% respectively. Results showed that the positive and. suspicious rates increased in course of time. 3. 70 to 100% of the positive cattle in hematological test were positive for BLV-antibody test. All of 13 cattle with persistent lymphocytosis (PL) were also positive for BLV-antibody, indicating the high relationship between PL and BLV-antibody. 4. The number of total leukocytes and absolute lymphocytes in the BLV-antibody positive cattle appeared significantly higher than those of the negative cattle. The markedly increased cell counts were observed in the cattle over one year old. 5. The mean of total leukocytes and absolute lymphocytes in the negative cattle for BLV-antibody increased slightly after sero-conversion into positive. 6. In the clinical examinations during experimental periods, none of the 72 positive cattle for BLV-antibody showed any lesions for bovine leukosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.802-807
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• 2000

Diffuse pulmonary nodular lesions have many causes. When they are caused by infection, the likely organisms are M. tuberculosis and various fungi. Silicosis, eosinophilic granuloma and pulmonary metastasis should be considered for differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis needs detailed clinical history, physical examination and various laboratory tests. A case of persistent diffuse pulmonary nodular lesions which had persisted 5 years is reported. The patient was a 25 years old man with minimal pulmonary symptoms. Detailed past history and physical examination suggested thyroid tumor. Chest radiography showed numerous evenly sized well-defined nodules scattered in entire lung fields. Previous chest X-rays showed similar nodular lesions, which had lasted for 5 years. The number of nodules was slightly increased. Neck CT showed heterogenous mass in left lobe of thyroid gland and multiple lymphadenopathies along both internal jugular chains. Total thyroidectomy was performed. A case of lung metastasis which progressed slowly in papillary thyroid cancer is reported.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 1984

To find clinical significance of routine "dipstick" urinalysis on admission, we analyzed the results of the "dipstick" urinalyses performed in 844 patients admitted to the pediatric department of Yeungnam University hospital from May 1, 1983 to October 31, 1984. Ketonuria, proteinuria, hematuria and glucosuria were found in 9.5%, 4.9%, 2.4% and 1.1% of the patients respectively. There were no significant differences by sex, age and presence of fever. However, proteinuria and ketonuria were found more frequently in the patients with dehydration (p<0.05). The degree of ketonuria showed a positive association w:th the severity of dehydration (p<0.005). All of the patients with proteinuria and ketonuria showed negative results on follow up. However, among 13 patients with hematura, 9 patients showed negative results and 4 patients had persistent hematuria on follow up. These 4 patients were found to have chronic pyelonephritis (2), asymptomatic urinary tract infection (1) and benign recurrent hematuria (1). This routine "dipstick" urinalysis on admission seems to be simple test which is useful in detecting unrecognized kidney and other urinary tract disease.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6145-6150
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• 2014

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed in immune and tumor cells and recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Cervical cancer (CC) is directly linked to a persistent infection with high risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs) and could be associated with alteration of TLRs expression. TLR9 plays a key role in the recognition of DNA viruses and better understanding of this signaling pathway in CC could lead to the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches. The present study was undertaken to determine the level of TLR9 expression in cervical neoplasias from Tunisian women with 53 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens, including 22 samples of invasive cervical carcinoma (ICC), 18 of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 7 of condyloma and 6 normal cervical tissues as control cases. Quantification of TLR9 expression was based on scoring four degrees of extent and intensity of immunostaining in squamous epithelial cells. TLR9 expression gradually increased from CIN1 (80% weak intensity) to CIN2 (83.3% moderate), CIN3 (57.1% strong) and ICC (100% very strong). It was absent in normal cervical tissue and weak in 71.4% of condyloma. The mean scores of TLR9 expression were compared using the Kruskall-Wallis test and there was a statistical significance between normal tissue and condyloma as well as between condyloma, CINs and ICC. These results suggest that TLR9 may play a role in progression of cervical neoplasia in Tunisian patients and could represent a useful biomarker for malignant transformation of cervical squamous cells.