The Development of the Brooding Scale

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a Brooding Scale (BS) and to confirm its psychometric properties. METHODS: A preliminary questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and face-to-face interviews with healthy subjects. To evaluate reliability and construct validity, a 15-item BS was administered to 124 healthy subjects. Convergent validity was tested by assessing the relationship between the BS and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Discriminant validity was confirmed in 58 patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: The internal consistency for the BS was excellent. An exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors: the emotional (six items) and cognitive (five items) domains, which explained 33.83% and 23.69% of the variance, respectively. The BS total score and scores for factors 1 and 2 showed significant positive correlations with the RRS. The total score and sub-factor scores of the BS were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: The BS can be used as a reliable and valid tool to assess brooding in healthy adults. In addition, it had good discriminant validity for patients with schizophrenia.

A study on the validity of reference points for edentulous patient / 대한치과보철학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of reference points for edentulous patient by examining the correlation of teeth and face, and intraoral anatomic landmarks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined a facial outline, length, bizygomatic width, nasion - gnathion length, glabella - nasion distance in 270 men and 280 women satisfied with inclusion criteria from Seoul National School of Dentistry. The shape of maxillary central incisor, mesiodistal crown width and length of maxillary 6 incisors, distance from incisive papilla to labial surface of maxillary central incisor, and perpendicular distance from incisive papilla to intercanine line were measured in the stone model. We analyzed the ratio and relevant relation statistically. RESULTS: The probability on having the same shape of face and the relative same shape maxillary incisor was 55.56% and 46.43% for men and women. The facial length proved to be a more valuable measurement in women in the tooth selection. The ratio of bizygomatic width to mesiodistal width of maxillary central incisor, and the ratio of bizygomatic width to width of maxillary 6 incisors were 16.8 : 1 and 3.0 : 1 and were positively correlated with each other. The distance of the canines from the maxillary incisal papilla was 1.33+/-1.28 mm. The distance between the center of the incisal papilla and the labial surface of their maxillary central incisor was 9.23+/-1.20 mm. CONCLUSION: It was showed that anatomical reference points in tooth selection and arrangement for edentulous patient are useful and have validity in our limited study.

Shielded Swab: A New Swab Technique Avoiding Contamination in Endoscopically Guided Middle Meatal Culture / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Endoscopically guided middle meatal culture is recommended to determine organ-specific antibiotic therapy in sinusitis. This study was designed to decrease the chance of contamination in endoscopically guided middle meatal swab through a shielded pathway using a sterile straw to bypass the contaminated area in the nose from the vestibule to the middle meatus. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Seventeen healthy volunteers underwent endoscopically guided middle meatal culture. With or without the sterilization of the nasal vestibule, endoscopically guided middle meatal culture was performed by using a sterile cotton swab (routine swab) and using a sterile cotton swab through a sterile straw (shielded swab). We compared the contamination rates between the routine swab versus shielded swab. RESULTS: With and without the sterilization of the nasal vestibule, the contamination rates of the routine swab was 11.7% and 64.7%, respectively and the contamination rates of the shielded swab was 5.8% in both. CONCLUSION: In endoscopically guided middle meatal culture, the contamination rates was significantly decreased by using the shielded swab without sterilization of the nasal vestibule. This study suggests that the shielded swab is a new and reliable swab method that can be used easily and simply at the office.

Rat Model of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B-Induced Rhinosinusitis

OBJECTIVES: It has been proposed that microbial persistence, superantigen (SA) production, and host T-cell response may be involved in the development of chronic rhinosinusitis. According to the SA hypothesis, a single intranasal application of SA such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) may induce chronic eosinophilic rhinosinusitis. This study aimed to develop a rat model of rhinosinusitis induced by intranasally applied SEB. METHODS: Forty microliter of SEB (100 microgram/mL) or phosphate buffered saline was applied intranasally through each naris in 4 weekold Sprague-Dawley test rats (N=36) and controls (N=16), respectively. Following sacrifice at 1, 5, 14, and 28 days, the obtained nasal cavity and sinuses were prepared for histologic investigation. The histologic sections were examined in a blind manner for the ratio of the sinus spaces occupied by inflammatory cell clusters and the number of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. RESULTS: Infiltration of neutrophils in the lamina propria and appearance of neutrophil clusters in the sinus spaces were observed in the SEB-applied rats. The ratio of the sinus spaces occupied by neutrophil clusters and the number of neutrophils infiltrated in the lamina propria increased significantly at day 1 as compared with the control rats. CONCLUSION: Intranasally applied SEB induces acute neutrophilic rhinosinusitis in rats. Eosinophilic inflammation was not demonstrated. The mere presence of SA in the nose does not necessarily induce SA-induced inflammation, as suggested by the SA hypothesis.

Rat Model of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B-Induced Rhinosinusitis

OBJECTIVES: It has been proposed that microbial persistence, superantigen (SA) production, and host T-cell response may be involved in the development of chronic rhinosinusitis. According to the SA hypothesis, a single intranasal application of SA such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) may induce chronic eosinophilic rhinosinusitis. This study aimed to develop a rat model of rhinosinusitis induced by intranasally applied SEB. METHODS: Forty microliter of SEB (100 microgram/mL) or phosphate buffered saline was applied intranasally through each naris in 4 weekold Sprague-Dawley test rats (N=36) and controls (N=16), respectively. Following sacrifice at 1, 5, 14, and 28 days, the obtained nasal cavity and sinuses were prepared for histologic investigation. The histologic sections were examined in a blind manner for the ratio of the sinus spaces occupied by inflammatory cell clusters and the number of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. RESULTS: Infiltration of neutrophils in the lamina propria and appearance of neutrophil clusters in the sinus spaces were observed in the SEB-applied rats. The ratio of the sinus spaces occupied by neutrophil clusters and the number of neutrophils infiltrated in the lamina propria increased significantly at day 1 as compared with the control rats. CONCLUSION: Intranasally applied SEB induces acute neutrophilic rhinosinusitis in rats. Eosinophilic inflammation was not demonstrated. The mere presence of SA in the nose does not necessarily induce SA-induced inflammation, as suggested by the SA hypothesis.

Modulation of Cytotoxicity by Nitric Oxide Donors during Treatment of Glioma with Anticancer Drugs

OBJECTIVE: Nitric oxide(NO) is implicated in a wide range of biological processes in tumors and is produced in glioma. To investigate the role of NO and its interaction with the tumoricidal effects of anticancer drugs, we study the antitumor activities of NO donors, with or without anticancer drugs, in human glioma cell lines. METHODS: U87MG and U373MG cells were treated with the NO donors sodium nitroprusside(SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine(SNAP), alone or in combination with the anticancer drugs 1, 3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea(BCNU) and cisplatin. Cell viability, cell proliferation, DNA fragmentation, nitrite level, and the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were determined. RESULTS: NO was markedly increased after treatment with SNP or SNAP; however, the addition of the anticancer drugs did not significantly affect NO production. NO donors or anticancer drugs reduced glioma cell viability and, in combination, acted synergistically to further decrease cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis were enhanced by combined treatment. Bax expression was increased by combined treatment, whereas Bcl-2 expression was reduced. The antitumor cytotoxicity of NO donors and anticancer drugs differed according to cell type. CONCLUSION: BCNU or cisplatin can inhibit cell viability and proliferation of glioma cells and can induce apoptosis. These effects are further enhanced by the addition of a NO donor which modulates the antitumor cytotoxicity of chemotherapy depending on cell type. Further biological, chemical, and toxicological studies of NO are required to clarify its mechanism of action in glioma.