Acute Kidney Injury due to Sodium Bromate Intoxication: A Report of Two Cases

Sodium bromate is a strong oxidant used as a neutralizing solution in hair permanents, as well as an auxiliary agent in printing and dyeing. Accidental or deliberate ingestion of bromate solution has rarely been reported in Korea. The clinical manifestations of bromate intoxication are vomiting, diarrhea, central nervous system symptoms, oliguric or non-oliguric acute kidney injury, hemolytic anemia, and deafness; most of these manifestations are reversible, with the exception of renal failure and deafness. Here, we report on two patients who demonstrated distinct clinical progressions. In the first case, a 16-year-old woman was successfully treated with hemodialysis and recovered renal function without hearing loss. However, in the second case, delayed hemodialysis resulted in persistent renal failure and hearing loss in a 77-year-old woman. This suggests that emergency therapeutic measures, including hemodialysis, should be taken as soon as possible, as the rapid removal of bromate may be essential to preventing severe intoxication and its sequelae

The experience of unmarried mothers raising their children in residential facilities: a phenomenological qualitative study

Background : Birth outside of marriage has been gradually increasing in Korea. However, social perception of unmarried mothers is still negative, and a number of them are not accepted by their family. Therefore, the Korean government has implemented a policy to provide financial aid and communal residence to unmarried mothers who cannot raise children with their family, or afford residence. Unmarried young mothers who rely on this government policy have low economic independence and social adaptation skills. Additionally, they have a high chance of encountering numerous challenges in raising children due to their living conditions in residential facilities and social prejudice. This study was conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of unmarried mothers raising children in residential facilities. Methods : Data were collected through in-depth interviews with nine unmarried mothers living in residential facilities with their children. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted to analyze the data. Results : The findings revealed that unmarried mothers struggled with various difficulties given the limitations of living in the facility, but attempted to navigate their uncertain future with the determination to be good mothers. Three main themes and eight sub-themes emerged: (1) adaptation to the identity of “unmarried mother”, (2) willingly undertaking the heavy burden of childrearing, (3) indispensable but insufficient supports from facilities. Participants had childrearing responsibilities, and tried to be good mothers for their children while struggling to adapt to their new identities. However, their self-doubt as a “good mother” and the absence of the child's father made them feel sorry for their child. Their daily experiences raising children and simultaneously preparing for their own independence were exhausting. The supports from the facilities were helpful but unsatisfactory and led to various psychosocial difficulties such as anxiety, depression, fear, guilty, and anger in unmarried mothers. Conclusions : Besides information and resources for parenting and independence, active approaches are needed to improve the psychological stability of unmarried mothers raising their children in facilities, and sustain a long-term socioeconomic support system. Thoughtful services tailored to mothers and children are also needed, instead of standardized services.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) under grant by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2019R1A2B5B01070519)

Underestimation of atypical ductal hyperplasia at sonographically guided core biopsy of the breast

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of underestimation of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) at sonographically guided core biopsy of the breast and to identify the factors involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 3,563 lesions con secutively evaluated with sonographically guided core biopsy between January 2002 and June 2006. Histologic analysis yielded ADH in 60 of the 3,563 lesions (1.7%). The rate of underestimation of ADH was determined by dividing the number of lesions that proved to be carcinoma at surgical excision by 44, the total number of lesions evaluated with excisional biopsy. Clinical, sonographic, and core biopsy features were analyzed to identify factors that affect the rate of underestimation of ADH. RESULTS: The rate of underestimation of ADH was found to be 48% (21 of 44 lesions). Underestimation of ADH was significantly less frequent for lesions evaluated with 11-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy than for lesions evaluated with 14-gauge automated gun biopsy (22% [four of 18 lesions] vs 65% [17 of 26 lesions], p = 0.012). The other clinical, sonographic, and biopsy features examined did not affect the rate of underestimation of ADH. CONCLUSION: For sonographically guided core biopsy of the breast, the rate of underestimation of ADH was 48%. This rate was lower for lesions evaluated with 11-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy (22%) than for those evaluated with 14-gauge automated gun biopsy (65%). This finding was particularly true of smaller lesions (< or = 2.0 cm) and for lesions of the mass-only type.Supported by grant A062260 from the Innovative Research Institute for Cell Therapy, Republic of Korea

Supratentorial Gangliocytoma Mimicking Extra-axial Tumor: A Report of Two Cases

We report two cases of supratentorial gangliocytomas mimicking an extra-axial tumor. MR imaging indicated that the tumors were extra-axial, and meningiomas were thus initially diagnosed. Relative to gray matter, the tumors were hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. On contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images, homogeneous enhancement was observed, while CT scanning revealed calcification in one of the two cases

A Study of Oral Health Knowledge for Pregnant Women

PURPOSE: This paper examined the relationship between knowledge differences of maternal oral health and of relevant demographic variables. METHODS: Participants included 239 pregnant women who were recruited from Women&apos;s Hospital located in B city who agreed to participate in this study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis using the SPSS 21.0 program. RESULTS: Maternal knowledge of oral health was moderate level (10.22±2.36). Scores of maternal knowledge of oral health were different according to age, education, occupation, parity, and dental care experience in pregnancy. Level of oral healthcare knowledge was weakly related to age and education. CONCLUSION: Consequently, it is necessary to encourage pregnant women to take part in oral health education program during antenatal care

AKAP12 regulates vascular integrity in zebrafish

The integrity of blood vessels controls vascular permeability and extravasation of blood cells, across the endothelium. Thus, the impairment of endothelial integrity leads to hemorrhage, edema, and inflammatory infiltration. However, the molecular mechanism underlying vascular integrity has not been fully understood. Here, we demonstrate an essential role for A-kinase anchoring protein 12 (AKAP12) in the maintenance of endothelial integrity during vascular development. Zebrafish embryos depleted of akap12 (akap12 morphants) exhibited severe hemorrhages. In vivo time-lapse analyses suggested that disorganized interendothelial cell-cell adhesions in akap12 morphants might be the cause of hemorrhage. To clarify the molecular mechanism by which the cell-cell adhesions are impaired, we examined the cell-cell adhesion molecules and their regulators using cultured endothelial cells. The expression of PAK2, an actin cytoskeletal regulator, and AF6, a connector of intercellular adhesion molecules and actin cytoskeleton, was reduced in AKAP12-depleted cells. Depletion of either PAK2 or AF6 phenocopied AKAP12-depleted cells, suggesting the reduction of PAK2 and AF6 results in the loosening of intercellular junctions. Consistent with this, overexpression of PAK2 and AF6 rescued the abnormal hemorrhage in akap12 morphants. We conclude that AKAP12 is essential for integrity of endothelium by maintaining the expression of PAK2 and AF6 during vascular development

Caloric restriction of db/db mice reverts hepatic steatosis and body weight with divergent hepatic metabolism

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of liver disease and its prevalence is a serious and growing clinical problem. Caloric restriction (CR) is commonly recommended for improvement of obesity-related diseases such as NAFLD. However, the effects of CR on hepatic metabolism remain unknown. We investigated the effects of CR on metabolic dysfunction in the liver of obese diabetic db/db mice. We found that CR of db/db mice reverted insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, body weight and adiposity to those of db/m mice. H-NMR- and UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolite profiling data showed significant metabolic alterations related to lipogenesis, ketogenesis, and inflammation in db/db mice. Moreover, western blot analysis showed that lipogenesis pathway enzymes in the liver of db/db mice were reduced by CR. In addition, CR reversed ketogenesis pathway enzymes and the enhanced autophagy, mitochondrial biogenesis, collagen deposition and endoplasmic reticulum stress in db/db mice. In particular, hepatic inflammation-related proteins including lipocalin-2 in db/db mice were attenuated by CR. Hepatic metabolomic studies yielded multiple pathological mechanisms of NAFLD. Also, these findings showed that CR has a therapeutic effect by attenuating the deleterious effects of obesity and diabetes-induced multiple complications