Application of SYBR Green real-time PCR assay for the specific detection of Salmonella spp / 대한수의학회지

The aim of this study was to applicate and evaluate a SYBR Green real-time PCR for the specific detection of Salmonella spp. Specificity of the PCR method was confirmed with 48 Salmonella spp. and 5 non-Salmonella strains using invA gene primer. The average threshold cycle (C(T)) of Salmonella spp. was 11.83 +/- 0.78 while non-Salmonella spp. was 30.86 +/- 1.19. Correlation coefficients of standard curves constructed using C(T) versus copy number of Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 13076 showed good linearity (R2 = 0.993; slope = 3.563). Minimum level of detection with the method was > 10(2) colony forming units (CFU)/mL. These results suggested that the SYBR Green real-time PCR might be applicable for the specific detection of Salmonella spp. isolates.

Alpha-Synuclein Expression in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Clinician's Perspective

Although physiological function of alpha-synuclein is not yet clearly understood, accumulating evidence strongly suggests it plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease. Pathologically, alpha-synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies, which is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson disease. Alpha-synuclein pathology is observed in the brainstem nuclei, including the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, the locus ceruleus, and the substantia nigra in the early phase of Parkinson disease and it may 'spread' to cerebral cortical areas in the advanced Parkinson disease and appears to have a role in the cognitive decline in Parkinson disease. Recently, it is suggested that alpha-synuclein pathology in Parkinson disease starts in the olfactory bulb or enteric nervous system and then spreads to the brainstem. In accordance with this hypothesis, alpha-synuclein pathology has been found in gastric mucosa and colonic mucosa of patients with Parkinson disease. Genetically, SNCA mutations including point mutation and copy number variation are known to cause familial Parkinson disease, further supporting the assumption that alpha-synuclein plays a crucial role in Parkinson disease pathogenesis. In addition, recent GWAS studies consistently show that the SNPs in SNCA genes are associated with risk for sporadic Parkinson disease. It is also known that variations in the promoter region or 3'UTR of SNCA, which increases the expression of SNCA, are associated with the risk for Parkinson disease. Collectively, these findings suggest that further studies on alpha-synuclein will lead to the elucidation of the mechanism of and therapy for Parkinson disease.

The Survey of Outcome Measures in Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in Hospitals of Korea

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study was to identify the rehabilitation outcome measures currently used in Korea. METHOD: The survey was conducted by e-mail questionnaire to 165 department of rehabilitation medicine in hospitals of Korea. Non-responders were sent a second copy of the questionnaire if they did not answer within 1 week. Data from the returned questionnaires were entered into a Microsoft Excel and subjected to descriptive and simple quantitative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 99 (60%) responses were received. Of these, 95% units collected some outcome assessment measure as part of routine clinical practice. Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) (80%) was the most popular global outcome measures. The Korean version of Berg Balance Scale (K-BBS) (53%) was used most frequently for balance assessment. Upper extremity function was checked with hand grip strength test (70%) and Box and block test (67%) most commonly. Korean version of Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) was the most popular cognitive function test (75%). PARADISE Korean version-Western Aphasia Battery (PARADISE K-WAB) was the most popular language test (67%). Sixty-three (67%) units used outcome results for discussion and goal setting. Seventy-eight (78%) units responded that they would use a standardized outcome measures if there is an agreed standardized outcome measures lists (80%) and support of money and time (43%). CONCLUSION: The survey demonstrated that quite widespread use of outcome assessments in routine clinical rehabilitation within Korea. There is also an agreement for need of common 'basket' of recommended instruments for rehabilitation.

The Survey of Outcome Measures in Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in Hospitals of Korea

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study was to identify the rehabilitation outcome measures currently used in Korea. METHOD: The survey was conducted by e-mail questionnaire to 165 department of rehabilitation medicine in hospitals of Korea. Non-responders were sent a second copy of the questionnaire if they did not answer within 1 week. Data from the returned questionnaires were entered into a Microsoft Excel and subjected to descriptive and simple quantitative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 99 (60%) responses were received. Of these, 95% units collected some outcome assessment measure as part of routine clinical practice. Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI) (80%) was the most popular global outcome measures. The Korean version of Berg Balance Scale (K-BBS) (53%) was used most frequently for balance assessment. Upper extremity function was checked with hand grip strength test (70%) and Box and block test (67%) most commonly. Korean version of Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) was the most popular cognitive function test (75%). PARADISE Korean version-Western Aphasia Battery (PARADISE K-WAB) was the most popular language test (67%). Sixty-three (67%) units used outcome results for discussion and goal setting. Seventy-eight (78%) units responded that they would use a standardized outcome measures if there is an agreed standardized outcome measures lists (80%) and support of money and time (43%). CONCLUSION: The survey demonstrated that quite widespread use of outcome assessments in routine clinical rehabilitation within Korea. There is also an agreement for need of common 'basket' of recommended instruments for rehabilitation.

Effect of Lymphangiogenic Factors on Survival in a Murine Model of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Prescription Drug Use in Primary Health Care Posts and Its Improvement Scheme

PURPOSE: The prescription drug list for primary treatment by community health practitioners has been maintained for 30 years without any modification. Thus, this study will suggest an improvement scheme of prescription drug list for primary health care posts through an analysis of drug use in those posts. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was implemented with community health practitioners from April to June in 2012. A total of 1,249 copies were analyzed. As for the databases of drug use in the integrated information, a total of 154,229 diagnoses selected in the method of stratified cluster sampling from 39 primary health care posts'data were analyzed. We consulted some experts about the prescription medication list, and referred to the medication information on-line home page for up-to-date drug information. RESULTS: This study ultimately suggests 77 prescription drug items for primary health care posts by eliminating 35 items and replacing 1 item from the original list, and adding 4 items to it. CONCLUSION: This study will provide basic data for revising the prescription drug list in primary health care posts by periodically reflecting adverse effects in the existing drugs, demographic and environmental changes, and development of new drugs.

Awareness Levels and Influencing Factors of Sexual Harassment and Gender Egalitarianism among College Students

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify awareness levels and influencing factors of sexual harassment and gender egalitarianism among college students. METHODS: This study was based on a questionnaire survey with a total of 1,244 college students. The copies of the questionnaire were collected from November 2 to December 20, 2011. RESULTS: The average level of sexual harassment and gender egalitarianism among students from the Youngnam province was higher than those of other province. The average level of the sexual harassment and gender egalitarianism among those students who were majoring in healthcare sciences was higher than that among those who were majoring in other subjects than arts and sports sciences. The influencing factors on the recognition of gender egalitarianism were genders and sexual experiences. The influencing factors on the recognition of sexual harassment were genders and ages. CONCLUSION: This study identified college students' awareness of sexual harassment, gender egalitarianism and influencing factors associated with them. It is expected that this study will be helpful for developing strategies for the prevention of sexual harassment for college students.

A case report of prenatally diagnosed tetrasomy 18p

Tetrasomy 18p, one of the most commonly observed isochromosomes, consists of two copies of the p arms on chromosome 18[i(18p)]. It is known as a de novo occurrence of non-disjunction or centromeric mis-division during meiosis II in the vast majority of cases. It has a prevalence of 1/140,000-180,000 live births and affects both genders equally. A 28-year-old woman was referred at 33+2 weeks gestation to rule out fetal congenital heart disease. Her prenatal ultrasonography showed intrauterine growth retardation, cardiomegaly, and imperforate anus. Doppler ultrasonographic finding showed fetal anemia. Tetrasomy 18p was confirmed by conventional karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Because of its very low prevalence rate, only several cases of tetrasomy 18p has been reported worldwide and it has not yet been reported in Korea before. Therefore, we report a case of prenatally diagnosed tetrasomy 18p.

Maxillary cement retained implant supported monolithic zirconia prosthesis in a full mouth rehabilitation: a clinical report

This clinical report presents the reconstruction of a maxillary arch with a cement retained implant supported fixed prosthesis using a monolithic zirconia generated by CAD/CAM system on eight osseointegrated implants. The prosthesis was copy milled from an interim prosthesis minimizing occlusal adjustments on the definitive prosthesis at the time of delivery. Monolithic zirconia provides high esthetics and reduces the number of metal alloys used in the oral cavity.

Effect of the Presence of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Polymorphism on the Recovery in Patients With Acute Subcortical Stroke

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism on the recovery after subcortical stroke, using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). METHODS: Subcortical stroke patients with copies of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (n=7) were compared to their controls (n=7) without a copy of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism after matching for initial severity, location and type of stroke. The mRS scores at 1 and 3 months after discharge from the neurorehabilitation unit were compared between the groups. RESULTS: A repeated measures ANOVA for mRS revealed significant interaction between time and group (F(2, 24) =37.2, p<0.001) and a significant effect of time (F(2, 24)=10.8, p<0.001), thereby reflecting significant differences between the Met allele (+) group and the Met allele (-) group. There was a significant difference in mRS scores at 3 months post-discharge between the two groups (p=0.01) although no difference was evident in mRS scores at 1 month post-discharge between the two groups. There were significant improvements between mRS scores on admission and mRS scores at 1 month post-discharge (p=0.02), and between mRS scores at 1 month post-discharge and mRS scores at 3 months post-discharge (p=0.004) in the Met allele (-) group. CONCLUSION: BDNF Val66Met polymorphism may be associated with worse functional outcome in Korean patients with subcortical stroke. Therefore, BDNF Val66Met polymorphism should be considered as an important prognostic factor for recovery and responses to rehabilitation therapies after stroke in Korean patients. There is a need for developing different rehabilitation strategies for the population with BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. Further studies assessing different outcomes for various functional domains of stroke recovery are needed to clarify the role of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism.

Is the Expression of Androgen Receptor Protein Associated With the Length of AC Repeats in the Type III 5-alpha Reductase Gene in Prostate Cancer Patients?

PURPOSE: Type III 5-alpha reductase (SRD5A3; steroid 5-alpha reductase 3) may be associated with the progression of prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of our study was to determine whether the length of AC repeats in the SRD5A3 gene is associated with the risk of PCa and the expression of androgen receptor (AR) protein in Korean men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the length of AC repeats in the short tandem repeat (STR) region of the SRD5A3 gene in 68 PCa patients and 81 control subjects by genotyping. A total of 55 patients in the PCa group underwent radical prostatectomy. We evaluated the expression of AR protein by using Western blotting and tested the association between the type of AC repeats in the SRD5A3 gene and AR protein expression and clinical and pathologic parameters. RESULTS: The short type of STR had less than 21 copies of AC repeats in the SRD5A3 gene. The SS type (short and short type) of STR of the SRD5A3 gene was 2.2 times as likely to occur in PCa patients as in controls (odds ratio, 2.21; 95% confidence interval, 1.14 to 4.31; p=0.019). However, AC repeats of the SRD5A3 gene were not associated with AR protein expression or clinical or pathologic parameters in PCa samples. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the short AC repeats of SRD5A3 polymorphism are associated with an increased risk of PCa. SRD5A3 polymorphism may contribute to a genetic predisposition for PCa.

Depression Among HIV-infected Patients in Korea: Assessment of Clinical Significance and Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: With prolonged life expectancies, mental illness has emerged as a disabling disorder among people with HIV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of depression and its risk factors among Korean patients with HIV infections. Eighty-two HIV-infected patients completed structured questionnaires including the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Subjects with depression were compared to those without depression in terms of demographics, comorbidities, CD4 T-cell count, RNA copy numbers, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens, and adherence. RESULTS: The estimated depression rate was 21% (17 of 82 subjects). Comorbidities (47% vs. 20%, P = 0.01) and unemployment (65% vs. 31%, P = 0.02) were risk factors for depression. Depressive patients were more likely to be anxious (71% vs. 29%, P < 0.01), to frequently miss clinical appointments each year (P = 0.04), and to have higher cumulative time lost to follow-up per month (P <0.01) compared to non-depressive patients. Only three depressive patients were referred to neuropsychologists. CONCLUSIONS: More than 20% of the Korean HIV patients in this study suffered from depression associated with poor adherence. Considering the low level of recognition of depression by clinicians, risk factor-based active assessment is recommended to manage depression properly in HIV-infected patients.

Lipoic Acid Prevents the Changes of Intracellular Lipid Partitioning by Free Fatty Acid

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is suggested that the hepatic lipid composition is more important than lipid quantity in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. We examined whether lipoic acid (LA) could alter intrahepatic lipid composition and free cholesterol distribution. METHODS: HepG2 cells were cultured with palmitic acid (PA) with and without LA. Apoptosis, changes of the mitochondrial structure, intracellular lipid partitioning, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity were measured. RESULTS: Free fatty acid (FA) increased apoptosis, and LA co-treatment prevented this lipotoxicity (apoptosis in controls vs PA vs PA+LA, 0.5% vs 19.5% vs 1.6%, p<0.05). LA also restored the intracellular mitochondrial DNA copy number (553+/-33.8 copies vs 291+/-14.55 copies vs 421+/-21.05 copies, p<0.05) and reversed the morphological changes induced by PA. In addition, ROS was increased in response to PA and was decreased in response to LA co-treatment (41,382 relative fluorescence unit [RFU] vs 43,646 RFU vs 41,935 RFU, p<0.05). LA co-treatment increased the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA concentrations and decreased the total saturated FA fraction. It also prevented the movement of intracellular free cholesterol from the cell membrane to the cytoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: LA opposes free FA-generated lipotoxicity by altering the intracellular lipid composition and free cholesterol distribution.

Difference of Genome-Wide Copy Number Alterations between High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions and Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Uterine Cervix

BACKGROUND: About 10% of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) progress to invasive carcinomas within 2-10 years. By delineating the events that occur in the early stage of the invasion, the pathogenesis of cervical cancer could be better understood. This will also propose the possible methods for inhibiting the tumor invasion and improving the survival of patients. METHODS: We compared the genomic profiles between the HSIL and the invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) using an array comparative genomic hybridization. Using recurrently altered genes, we performed a principal component analysis to see variation of samples in both groups. To find possibly affected pathways by altered genes, we analyzed genomic profiles with the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database and GOEAST software. RESULTS: We found 11q12.3 and 2p24.1 regions have recurrent copy number gains in both groups. 16p12-13 and 20q11-13 regions showed an increased copy number only in cases of HSIL. 1q25.3 and 3q23-29 regions showed copy number gains only in cases of SCC. Altered genes in the SCC group were related to the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and the RNA transport. Altered genes in the HSIL group were related to the ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and cell adhesion molecules. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed not only that gains in 11q12.3 and 2p24.1 were early events occurring in the premalignant lesions and then maintained in cases of SCC but also that gains in 1q25.3 and 3q23-29 were late events occurring after invasion in those of SCC.

Perspectives of Integrative Cancer Genomics in Next Generation Sequencing Era

The explosive development of genomics technologies including microarrays and next generation sequencing (NGS) has provided comprehensive maps of cancer genomes, including the expression of mRNAs and microRNAs, DNA copy numbers, sequence variations, and epigenetic changes. These genome-wide profiles of the genetic aberrations could reveal the candidates for diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers as well as mechanistic insights into tumor development and progression. Recent efforts to establish the huge cancer genome compendium and integrative omics analyses, so-called "integromics", have extended our understanding on the cancer genome, showing its daunting complexity and heterogeneity. However, the challenges of the structured integration, sharing, and interpretation of the big omics data still remain to be resolved. Here, we review several issues raised in cancer omics data analysis, including NGS, focusing particularly on the study design and analysis strategies. This might be helpful to understand the current trends and strategies of the rapidly evolving cancer genomics research.

Perspectives of Integrative Cancer Genomics in Next Generation Sequencing Era

The explosive development of genomics technologies including microarrays and next generation sequencing (NGS) has provided comprehensive maps of cancer genomes, including the expression of mRNAs and microRNAs, DNA copy numbers, sequence variations, and epigenetic changes. These genome-wide profiles of the genetic aberrations could reveal the candidates for diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers as well as mechanistic insights into tumor development and progression. Recent efforts to establish the huge cancer genome compendium and integrative omics analyses, so-called "integromics", have extended our understanding on the cancer genome, showing its daunting complexity and heterogeneity. However, the challenges of the structured integration, sharing, and interpretation of the big omics data still remain to be resolved. Here, we review several issues raised in cancer omics data analysis, including NGS, focusing particularly on the study design and analysis strategies. This might be helpful to understand the current trends and strategies of the rapidly evolving cancer genomics research.

Identifying Copy Number Variants under Selection in Geographically Structured Populations Based on F-statistics

Large-scale copy number variants (CNVs) in the human provide the raw material for delineating population differences, as natural selection may have affected at least some of the CNVs thus far discovered. Although the examination of relatively large numbers of specific ethnic groups has recently started in regard to inter-ethnic group differences in CNVs, identifying and understanding particular instances of natural selection have not been performed. The traditional FST measure, obtained from differences in allele frequencies between populations, has been used to identify CNVs loci subject to geographically varying selection. Here, we review advances and the application of multinomial-Dirichlet likelihood methods of inference for identifying genome regions that have been subject to natural selection with the FST estimates. The contents of presentation are not new; however, this review clarifies how the application of the methods to CNV data, which remains largely unexplored, is possible. A hierarchical Bayesian method, which is implemented via Markov Chain Monte Carlo, estimates locus-specific FST and can identify outlying CNVs loci with large values of FST. By applying this Bayesian method to the publicly available CNV data, we identified the CNV loci that show signals of natural selection, which may elucidate the genetic basis of human disease and diversity.

Identifying Copy Number Variants under Selection in Geographically Structured Populations Based on F-statistics

Large-scale copy number variants (CNVs) in the human provide the raw material for delineating population differences, as natural selection may have affected at least some of the CNVs thus far discovered. Although the examination of relatively large numbers of specific ethnic groups has recently started in regard to inter-ethnic group differences in CNVs, identifying and understanding particular instances of natural selection have not been performed. The traditional FST measure, obtained from differences in allele frequencies between populations, has been used to identify CNVs loci subject to geographically varying selection. Here, we review advances and the application of multinomial-Dirichlet likelihood methods of inference for identifying genome regions that have been subject to natural selection with the FST estimates. The contents of presentation are not new; however, this review clarifies how the application of the methods to CNV data, which remains largely unexplored, is possible. A hierarchical Bayesian method, which is implemented via Markov Chain Monte Carlo, estimates locus-specific FST and can identify outlying CNVs loci with large values of FST. By applying this Bayesian method to the publicly available CNV data, we identified the CNV loci that show signals of natural selection, which may elucidate the genetic basis of human disease and diversity.

Anatomical Correlates of Interlocking Pentagon Drawing

BACKGROUND: The interlocking pentagon drawing test, a part of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), is a widely used clinical practice to measure visuoconstructional ability of dementia patients. We investigated the anatomical structures of brain associated with pentagon drawing in subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). METHODS: Medical records of forty-four AD patients were reviewed and a 1.5 T SPGR 3D image data were used for VBM analysis. A voxel-based multiple regression analysis was used to investigate correlation between gray matter loss and pentagon drawing performance of AD patients. The correlations between pentagon drawing score and MMSE score were evaluated by Spearman correlation analysis. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between the interlocking pentagon copying scores and the MMSE scores (r=0.448, p=0.002). The lower the scores of interlocking pentagon copying were, the more severe the atrophy of right inferior frontal gyrus became ([x, y, z]=[52, 39, 3], Broadmann area 45, and z score=3.86). CONCLUSIONS: The performance of interlocking pentagon drawing is associated with a general cognitive function in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. It is also associated with the atrophy of the right inferior frontal gyrus.

The Development of an Automatic Chronic Otitis Media Operation Recording System with Concurrent Data Input Process / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It takes considerable time and effort to make an operation record for the chronic otitis media. Also there are risks of incorrectness or omission of data. We developed an automatic operation recording system in order to reduce the burden of the resident keeping the record and to give completeness to the operation data. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: The model-view-controller (MVC) pattern isolates the domain logic (controller) from the user interface (data model-view), permitting independent development. We used the MVC pattern to design the program it since it matched with the feature of the operation recording system. RESULTS: We implemented this system using the Python programming language, which is composed of 98 fields and 4 different types of widgets linked to those fields. The outputs of the 4 views can be easily copied and pasted to the word processor and the electronic medical recorder. In the pilot test, this system reduced significant amount of time and effort needed for operation recording. CONCLUSION: The automatic operation recording system reduces the resident's works and the operation data loss. Furthermore, it could be applied to other types of operation records.