• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2014

The appearance of retinal blood vessels is an important diagnostic indicator of serious disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Automatic segmentation of the retinal vasculature is a primary step towards automatic assessment of the retinal blood vessel features. This paper presents an automated method for the enhancement and segmentation of blood vessels in fundus images. To decrease the influence of the optic disk, and emphasize the vessels for each retinal image, a multidirectional morphological top-hat transform with rotating structuring elements is first applied to the background homogenized retinal image. Then, an improved multiscale line detector is presented to produce a vessel response image, and yield the retinal blood vessel tree for each retinal image. Since different line detectors at varying scales have different line responses in the multiscale detector, the line detectors with longer length produce more vessel responses than the ones with shorter length; the improved multiscale detector combines all the responses at different scales by setting different weights for each scale. The methodology is evaluated on two publicly available databases, DRIVE and STARE. Experimental results demonstrate an excellent performance that approximates the average accuracy of a human observer. Moreover, the method is simple, fast, and robust to noise, so it is suitable for being integrated into a computer-assisted diagnostic system for ophthalmic disorders.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 2014

Cardiovascular system is the primary organ to develop and reach a functional state, which underscores the essential role of the vasculature in the developing embryo. The vasculature is a highly specialized organ that functions in a number of key physiological works including the carrying of oxygen and nutrients to tissues. It is closely involved in the formation of heart, and hence it is essential for survival during the hatching period. The expression of genes involved during vascular development in the olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) in the days after hatching is not fully understood. Therefore, we examined the expression patterns of genes activated during the development of flounder. Microscopic observations showed that formation of blood vessels is related to the expression of the vimentin gene. Also, the temporal expression patterns of this vimentin-like gene in the developmental stages and in the normal tissues of olive flounder. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression patterns of vimentin in normal tissues of the olive flounder and during the development of the vascular system in newly hatched olive flounders and HIF-1 plays a vital role in the formation of blood vessels during development. Vimentin expression was strong at the beginning of the development of blood vessels, and was present throughout all developmental stages. Our findings have important implications with respect to the roles of vimentin and HIF-1 in the development and evolution of the first blood vessels in olive flounder. Further studies are required to elucidate the vimentin-mediated hypoxic response signal transduction and to decipher the functional role of vimentin in developmental stages.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.54-57
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• 2015

Angiosarcoma is a rare and highly malignant neoplasm which develops from the endothelium of blood vessels. A few cases of primary angiosarcoma of the parotid gland have been reported. However, there is no report of primary angiosarcoma of the accessory parotid gland. In this case, we report a primary angiosarcoma of the accessory parotid gland in a 45-year-old man with growing cheek mass. Ultrasonography revealed a $2.0{\times}2.6cm$ sized homogeneous hypoechoic mass and computed tomography showed a contrast enhanced homogeneous mass. Fine needle aspiration biopsy suggested a benign tumor. The mass was completely excised with a minimal vertical incision. The histopathology showed anastomosing vascular channels lined by atypical endothelial cells and many branching vessels with staghorn appearance with positive immunohistochemical staining for CD34, a highly specific endothelial marker. The patient underwent postoperative radiotherapy and was followed for 8 years without recurrence and metastasis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.399-407
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• 2024

Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels form from existing blood vessels. This phenomenon occurs during growth, healing, and menstrual cycle changes. Angiogenesis is a complex and multifaceted process that is important for the continued growth of primary tumors, metastasis promotion, the support of metastatic tumors, and cancer progression. Impaired angiogenesis can lead to cancer, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and delayed wound healing. Currently, there are only a handful of effective antiangiogenic drugs. Recent studies have shown that natural marine products exhibit antiangiogenic effects. In a previous study, we reported that the hexane extract of H. fusiformis (HFH) could inhibit the development of new blood vessels both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to describe the inhibitory effect of chloroform extracts of H. fusiformis on angiogenesis. To investigate how chloroform extract prevents blood vessel growth, we examined its effects on HUVEC, including cell migration, invasion, and tube formation. In a mouse Matrigel plug assay, H. fusiformis chloroform extract (HFC) also inhibited angiogenesis in vivo. Certain proteins associated with blood vessel growth were reduced after HFC treatment. These proteins include vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal transduction kinase, and serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT). These studies have shown that the chloroform extract of H. fusiformis can inhibit blood vessel growth both in vitro and in vivo.

• Journal of Oriental Medical Thermology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2003

Dysmenorrhea is one of the common gynecologic disorders of menstruation women. Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain without pelvic pathology. whereas secondary one is painful mestruation with underlying pathology. The cause of primary dysmenorrhea is increased endometrial prostaglandin. The mechanisims underlying secondary dysmenorrhea are not eluciated. There are many blood vessels under the skin and they play a very important role in the thermal control of peripheral part. The control of blood circulation is mainly controlled by autonomic nervous system and it is known that D.I.T.I. (digital infra-red thermographic imaging) is an objective method showing the body temperature. I observed the abdominal themerature of 49 patients complaning of dysmenorrhea who visited the gynecologic department of Pundang Oriental Medical Hospital during 1997. In order to rule out thermal abnormality due to obesity. the causes whose obesity index were above I. were excluded in this study. The mean temperature of lower abdomen of the dysmenorrhea group was $35.22{\pm}1.33^{\circ}C$ and control group was $36.01{\pm}0.74^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.843-848
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• 1998

Pulpotomy is a frequently used treatment modality in primary teeth. It is method by which infected coronal pulp is removed while retaining vital radicular pulp. Since its introduction in 1930 by Sweet formocresol remains the most popular medicament for this treatment. However, despite its outstanding bactericidal properties, formocresol is known to cause adverse tissue reactions. Theoretically, formocresol disinfects and fixes radicular pulp and thus prevents infection and internal resorption. In reality, however, it leads to chronic inflammation and is sometimes responsible for failures through abscess formation and internal root resorption. Also, Myers et al., in 1978, reported on the systemic distribution of FC and other studies have followed with reports of its immunological, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. Much effort has, therefore, focused on the development of alternative medicaments and techniques. Since its introduction in 19C, ferric sulfate proven itself as an effective hemostatic agent and is used as an astringent in dentistry. In 1988, Landau and Johnsen suggested ferric sulfate be used as a medicament in pulpotomy and many studies have focused on it to overcome the toxic effects of FC. Ferric sulfate acts through its ferric ion and iron ion, which react with blood protein leading to aggregation. The aggregated protein acts to plug the blood vessels, causing mechanical hemostasis. As blood clot formation is minimal, there is reduced inflammation of radicular pulp and enhanced healing. There are no reports regarding its systemic distribution. This is a report of cases treated by the author using pulpotomy with ferric sulfate.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.97-110
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• 2021

Objectives: This study was performed to review the research trends in the relationship between primary dysmenorrhea and doppler indicies of uterine artery. Methods: The search for related papers used 'Pubmed', a reserch engine in the America National Library of Medicine and Korean studies Information Service System (KISS). Used searching terms were 'primary dysmenorrhea', 'menstrual pain' in all cases. And among these studies, we searched by using key word 'uterine artery', 'doppler indices', 'doppler parameters', 'pulsatile index', 'resistance index'. Results: Overall 49 studies, 8 studies were finally selected to this study. There were 6 controlled studies and 2 randomised-controlled studies. In all 8 studies, transvaginal ultrasound was used to measure the resistance of uterine blood vessels. All of these studies reported that in patients with primary dysmenorrhea, hemodynamic values of uterine arteries measured by Doppler ultrasound were significantly higher than in normal subjects. Conclusions: According to the results, it was found that there was a positive correlation between the pain level of primary dysmenorrhea and the pulsation index and resistance index of the uterine artery. Based on these results, it can be seen that the doppler indicies of uterine artery have the potential to be used as an evaluation scale for Korean traditional medicine for primary dysmenorrhea.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.151-160
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• 1994

In order to elucidate the patterns of tissue damage evoked by the scuticociliatids, eighteen fingerlings of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, heavily infected with an unidentified scuticociliatid were histopathologically examined. Skin layer with the underlying musculature were severely necrotized due to the infestation of the ciliates. However in the early lesions, both dermis and myofibres remained relatively intact compared with other surrounding loose connective tissues. Mild damages were found in more dense tissues. One or more scuticociliatids were recognized in the blood and lymph vessels of the loose connective tissues with or without destructive changes. Many of nerve trunks or ganglia were also parasitized with less marked histological damage in the parenchyma. Dura and its adjacent tissues in the spinal cord were severely necrotized with massive accumulation of the ciliates in subdural space. The parasitic invasion in the central nervous system was usually confined to the cortical region. In the gill, variable degenerative changes were occurred due to the invasion of the ciliates recognized in the blood vessels of branchial arches or primary filaments. From these results, it was strongly suggested that the scuticociliatids are very actively penetrated into the deep tissues mainly through the severe destruction of the loose connective tissue components and that the vascular system could play a role in the rapid distribution of the ciliates to the remote tissues or organs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2020

Background: When an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is created using the basilic or deep cephalic vein, it is additionally necessary to transfer the vessels to a position where needling is easy; however, many patients develop wound-related postsurgical complications due to the long surgical wounds resulting from conventional superficialization of a deep AVF or basilic vein transposition. Thus, to address this problem, we performed videoscopic surgery with small surgical incisions. Methods: Data from 16 patients who underwent additional videoscopic radiocephalic superficialization, brachiocephalic superficialization, and brachiobasilic transposition after AVF formation at our institution in 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Needling was successful in all patients. No wound-related complications occurred. The mean vessel size and blood flow of the AVF just before the first needling were 0.73±0.16 mm and 1,516.25±791.26 mL/min, respectively. The mean vessel depth after surgery was 0.26±0.10 cm. Percutaneous angioplasty was additionally performed in 25% of the patients. Primary patency was observed in 100% of patients during the follow-up period (262.44±73.49 days). Conclusion: Videoscopic surgery for AVF dramatically reduced the incidence of postoperative complications without interrupting patency; moreover, such procedures may increase the use of native vessels for vascular access. In addition, dissection using a videoscope compared to blind dissection using only a skip incision dramatically increased the success rate of displacement by reducing damage to the dissected vessels.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.124-128
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• 2006

Astrocyte has emerged as an active regulator of brain function, which connects between blood vessels and neurons as well as is a structural component of the blood-brain barrier, From its structural characteristics, astrocyte seems to sensitively respond to oxygen tension, and, in turn, generate diverse cellular cascades. Therefore, to reveal astrocytlc events by oxygen change, we screened genes whose expressions are upregulated under reoxygenation after hypoxic stress using cDNA representational difference analysis (RDA) technique. Meteorin that regulates glial differentiation was isolated from primary cultured rat astrocytes as a hypoxia/reoxygenation regulatory factor. We cloned rat version of Meteorin (rMe-teorin) and determined full-size sequences of rMeteorin. In addition, RT-PCR analysis revealed that Meteorin was increased under reoxygenation in astrocytes and highly expressed in the developing brain. Collectively, these results suggest that Meteorin may regulate astrocyte-mediated effects in response to the change of oxygen tension in the pathophysiological states.