Occurrence of Cercospora Leaf Spot Caused by Cercospora cf. flagellaris on Melon in Korea

In 2016, a cercosporoid fungus was found from leaf spot symptoms on melon in Korea. The fungus isolated from the plant was identified based on morphological characteristics and sequence analyses of five genes (ITS rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-α, actin, calmodulin, and histone H3). The fungal isolate was found to be pathogenic to melon. The results confirm that the fungus associated with leaf spot on melon was Cercospora cf. flagellaris. This is the first report of Cercospora cf. flagellaris causing Cercospora leaf spot on melon in Korea.

Colletotrichum cymbidiicola Causing Anthracnose on Cymbidium Orchids in Korea

A Colletotrichum species was isolated from leaves of Cymbidium exhibiting symptoms of anthracnose. In this study, the isolates obtained were identified based on recent taxonomic approaches for the genus Colletotrichum. The identity of the causal pathogen was confirmed using morphological data and phylogenetic analysis of combined multi-gene dataset (internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, chitin synthase-1, actin, histone3, beta-tubulin, and calmodulin). Pathogenicity testing revealed that the isolates were pathogenic toCymbidium. Based on these results, the fungal pathogen occurring on Cymbidium orchids was identified as Colletotrichum cymbidiicola, which is a newly recorded species in Korea.

Cutaneous Microflora from Geographically Isolated Groups of Bradysia agrestis, an Insect Vector of Diverse Plant Pathogens

Larvae of Bradysia agrestis, an insect vector that transports plant pathogens, were sampled from geographically isolated regions in Korea to identify their cutaneous fungal and bacterial flora. Sampled areas were chosen within the distribution range of B. agrestis; each site was more than 91 km apart to ensure geographical segregation. We isolated 76 microbial (fungi and bacteria) strains (site 1, 29; site 2, 29; site 3, 18 strains) that were identified on the basis of morphological differences. Species identification was molecularly confirmed by determination of universal fungal internal transcribed spacer and bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in comparison to sequences in the EzTaxon database and the NCBI GenBank database, and their phylogenetic relationships were determined. The fungal isolates belonged to 2 phyla, 5 classes, and 7 genera; bacterial species belonged to 23 genera and 32 species. Microbial diversity differed significantly among the geographical groups with respect to Margalef's richness (3.9, 3.6, and 4.5), Menhinick's index (2.65, 2.46, and 3.30), Simpson's index (0.06, 0.12, and 0.01), and Shannon's index (2.50, 2.17, and 2.58). Although the microbial genera distribution or diversity values clearly varied among geographical groups, common genera were identified in all groups, including the fungal genus Cladosporium, and the bacterial genera Bacillus and Rhodococcus. According to classic principles of co-evolutionary relationship, these genera might have a closer association with their host insect vector B. agrestis than other genera identified. Some cutaneous bacterial genera (e.g., Pseudomonas) displaying weak interdependency with insect vectors may be hazardous to agricultural environments via mechanical transmission via B. agrestis. This study provides comprehensive information regarding the cutaneous microflora of B. agrestis, which can help in the control of such pests for crop management.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Alternaria tenuissima on Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) in Korea

In July 2015, diseased leaves of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) were observed in Danyang and Gochang, Korea. The symptoms appeared as circular or irregular brown leaf spots, from which Alternaria tenuissima was isolated. The isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar, and their morphological characteristics were observed under a light microscope. The colonies were whitish to ash colored. The pathogenicity test on healthy black chokeberry leaves produced circular brown spots, in line with the original symptoms. Molecular analyses of the ITS, GPD, RPB2, and TEF genes were conducted to confirm the identity of the pathogen. The phylogeny of the multi-gene sequences indicated that the causal agent was A. tenuissima. This study is the first report of A. tenuissima leaf spot on black chokeberry (A. melanocarpa).

Diversity of Endophytic Fungi Associated with the Roots of Four Aquatic Plants Inhabiting Two Wetlands in Korea

A total of 4 aquatic plants, Eleocharis kuroguwai Ohwi, Hydrocharis dubia Backer, Salvinia natans All., and Zizania latifolia Turcz., were sampled from representative two wetlands of South Korea. A total of 38 endophytic fungal strains were isolated from aquatic plants native to the Daepyeong wetland, and 27 strains were isolated from the Jilnal wetland. The internal transcribed spacer regions of fungal isolates were sequenced and a phylogenetic analysis was performed. In addition, endophytic fungal diversity from each wetland and host plant species was deduced. A total of 25 fungal genera were purely isolated, and 16 fungal genera were isolated from each of the two wetlands. Commonly isolated genera from both wetlands were Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Clonostachys, Fusarium, Leptosphaeria, Penicillium, and Talaromyces. This study revealed that fungal diversity varied with environmental conditions and by host plant in representative two wetlands.

First Report of Fusarium subglutinans Causing Leaf Spot Disease on Cymbidium Orchids in Korea

In 2006~2010, leaf spot symptoms, that is, small, yellow spots that turned into dark brown-to-black lesions surrounded by a yellow halo, were observed on Cymbidium spp. in Gongju, Taean, and Gapyeong in Korea. A Fusarium species was continuously isolated from symptomatic leaves; in pathogenicity testing, isolates caused leaf spot symptoms consisting of sunken, dark brown lesions similar to the original ones. The causal pathogen was identified as Fusarium subglutinans based on morphological and translation elongation factor 1-alpha sequence analyses. This is the first report of F. subglutinans as the cause of leaf spot disease in Cymbidium spp. in Korea.

First Report of Myrothecium roridum Causing Leaf and Stem Rot Disease on Peperomia quadrangularis in Korea

In 2010, symptoms of leaf and stem rot were observed on potted plants (Peperomia quadrangularis) in a greenhouse in Yongin, Korea. The causative pathogen was identified as Myrothecium roridum based on morphological data, internal transcribed spacer sequence analysis, and pathogenicity test. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. roridum causing leaf and stem rot disease on P. quadrangularis in Korea and elsewhere worldwide.

Differentiation between Tuberculous Spondylitis and Pyogenic Spondylitis on MR Imaging

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of tuberculous spondylitis with pyogenic spondylitis. METHODS: MR images of the spines of 41 patients with infectious spondylitis at our institution over 8-years of period were retrospectively reviewed. Eighteen patients with infective spondylitis were excluded because their results on the marrow biopsy and culture were negative. MR imaging findings in 6 patients with tuberculous spondylitis (3 male, 3 female) were compared with those of 17 patients (10 male, 7 female) with pyogenic spondylitis. RESULTS: Two MR imaging findings were statiscally significant in differentiating the tuberculous spondylitis from pyogenic spondylitis: a well defined paraspinal abnormal signal and a thin and smooth abscess wall. There were no significant differences in the following MR imaging findings: paraspinal abscess or intraosseous abscess, subligamentous spread to three or more vertebra, involvement of multiple vertebra, hyperintense signal on T2-weighted images, heterogenous low signal on T1-weighted images, involvement of posterior element, epidural extension, involvement of intervertebral disk, disk space narrowing, rim enhancement of the abscess, skip lesion, and endplate destruction. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is an appropriate modality for differentiation of tuberculous spondylitis from pyogenic spondylitis.

Prevalence, Correlates, and Comorbidity of 12-Month Tobacco Dependence among Ever-smokers in South Korea, During 1984-2001

The rate of dependence among ever-users of a drug indicates the risk of developing dependence once an individual has been exposed to the drug. This is the first study to investigate 12-month tobacco dependence (TD) among ever-smokers in a community-based population. Analyses were based on two national studies of representative samples aged 18-64 in 1984 (n=5,025) and in 2001 (n=6,275), conducted with household visits and face-to-face interviews. The rates of 12-month TD among ever-smokers in men showed no significant difference between 51.6% in 1984 and 50.6% in 2001. On the contrary, the rates in women significantly increased from 33.3% in 1984 to 52.8% in 2001. After adjusting for the sociodemographic variables, 'male gender' was significantly associated with 12-month TD among eversmokers in 1984, but not in 2001. 'Unmarried' was significantly associated in 2001 but not in 1984. 'Alcohol dependence' was the only psychiatric disorder associated with 12-month TD in both study years. In conclusion, 12-month TD was found in about 50% of ever-smokers, and gender differences between the rates of 12-month TD which was observed in 1984 disappeared in 2001. Individuals with 12-month TD showed higher comorbidity with alcohol dependence than ever-smokers without TD.

Difference between Subjective and Objective Estimates of Dementia in the Community Elderly

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of how much the presence of dementia is underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in the elderly population by themselves. METHOD: The number of self-professed dementia cases was compared to the estimated number of cases with cognitive impairment based on the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSEK) employed in a nationwide survey "Need assessment of the long-term care in the elderly" in three representative areas of Korea. The would-be dementia cases were analyzed. RESULTS: Only eighteen (0.7%) of 2,638 reported the presence of dementia while 414 (15.7%) were diagnosed as having questionable cognitive impairment and 385 (14.6%) as having definite cognitive impairment on the MMSEK. On the other hand, some of the self-professed "dementia" cases were not impaired on the MMSEK. CONCLUSION: The public should be educated on clinical manifestations of dementia for its early diagnosis and appropriate treatment because they are mostly without understanding about dementia.

Successful Aging: Concept and Strategies

Thoughts and concepts on successful aging were reviewed from psychological, biomedical and multi-dimensional points of view. Longevity, mental health, preservation of cognitive function, physical health and life satisfaction seem to constitute successful aging albeit we are not still at a full consensus about what successful aging is and about which of those domains is most important. A variety of factors are related to successful aging and some of them are thought to be modifiable while some are not. Lastly, many interventions for successful aging were discussed at both individual and social levels.

Successful Aging: Concept and Strategies

Thoughts and concepts on successful aging were reviewed from psychological, biomedical and multi-dimensional points of view. Longevity, mental health, preservation of cognitive function, physical health and life satisfaction seem to constitute successful aging albeit we are not still at a full consensus about what successful aging is and about which of those domains is most important. A variety of factors are related to successful aging and some of them are thought to be modifiable while some are not. Lastly, many interventions for successful aging were discussed at both individual and social levels.

Korean Epidemiologic Catchment Area(KECA) Study for Psychiatric Disorderscc: Prevalence of Specific Psychiatric Disorders / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of the DSM-IV psychiatric disorders in Korean population using the Korean version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI). METHODS: Subjects were selected by taking multi-stage, cluster samples of 7,867 adult household residents, 18 to 64 years of age, in ten catchment areas. Total 78 trained interviewers administered the K-CIDI to the selected respondents, from June 1 to November 30, 2001. RESULTS: Total 6,275 respondents completed the interview. Some 33.5% of respondents reported at least one lifetime disorder, 20.6% reported at least one-year disorder, and 16.7% reported at least one-month disorder. The most common lifetime disorders were alcohol abuse/dependence (17.24%), nicotine dependence/withdrawal (11.19%), specific phobia (5.16%), and major depressive disorder (4.25%). The lifetime prevalence of substance abuse/dependence (0.25%) and schizophrenia (0.16%) was very low. Nicotine and alcohol use disorder showed very high male/female ratio. Mood disorder and anxiety disorder were more prevalent among female than male. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was high. In comparison with other studies, remarkable differences in distributions of psychiatric disorders across the areas and times were observed.

Early Diagnosis of Dementia

Considering the proportion of the elderly among the total population, prevalence of dementia in the group, and social burden for the management of demented patients, dementia must be a public health problem. Neuroscience, which has made an incredible advance applicable to neuropsychiatry during the last few decades, contributes much to gaining new insight into pathophysiology of dementia as well as to its treatment. The early diagnosis of dementia is increasingly important for these reasons. However, it is controversial which of 1) population screening of the elderly, 2) targeting high risk groups, and 3) identification of the elderly with possible mild cognitive impairment is best one . The screening test on the high risk groups and/or the elderly with possible mild cognitive impairment is recommended for the early identification of dementia, with keeping in mind the dementia prevalence, availability of screening tests, possibility of treatment, and social burden resulting from delayed therapeutic intervention.

Item Analysis of the Mini-Memory Test in Elderly Psychiatric Patients

OBJECTIVE: Analyses of the 24 items of the Mini-Memory Test (MiMeT) using the item response theory. METHODS: Item difficulty and item discrimination of all items were evaluated with the 2-parametric logistic model in elderly psychiatric patients with memory impairment (n=332, 48.4%) and without (n=354, 51.6%). The BILOG 3 for Windows was employed for the analysis. RESULTS: The mean item difficulty (+/-SD) was -0.878 (+/-1.176), with range of -3.299~0.902. The mean item discrimination (+/-SD) was -1.051(+/-0.392), ranging from 0.346 to 1.848. Discriminations of 19 items were above appropriate level and the delayed recall of short story items of the long-term memory had the highest discrimination. CONCLUSION: All the MiMeT items were thought as having no problems as memory screening test in terms of difficulty and discrimination at the level of p<0.01.

Practice Guidelines for the Manegement of Alzheimer's Disease

No abstract available.

Bridge between Brain and Mind / 신경정신의학

Mental functions, both normal and abnormal, are closely related to the brain function. On the other hand, it is also true that postnatal education and personal experiences could change the brain activities both chemically and physiologically and structurally. However, the relationships between the brain and mind are far from clear understanding, even though a variety of advanced knowledges and techniques, including brain imagings, neurochemistry and neuropsychopharmacology, and basic neurosciences, are at hands of scientists. In this special issue, the 5 psychiatrists took parts in elucidating the relationship between brain and mind from the point of cause of and therapeutic intervention for mental illnesses: 1) mental illness: disease of mind? 2) mental illness: disease of brain? 3) the role of biological interventions in mind 4) effect of psychological treatment: through brain change? and 5) effect of psychotherapy: through emotional growth?

Can Biological Interventions Change Mind? / 신경정신의학

It is doubtless that the mind or behaviors could be modified through biological interventions, either invasive or noninvasive. Those changes may be negative or pathological, and may be positive or normalizing. However, further advances in psychiatry and neurosciences they could be more and more desirable, variaous, and specific in direction. Researchers in the fields of psychiatry and neurosciences focused and are focusing their activities mainly on causes of and risk factors for mental illnesses. Some persons with high risk for mental illness, genetically or environmentally, cope very well without psychiatric manifestations. Our future studies should include resilience or invulnerability which is thought to protect the predisposed persons from mental illnesses.

Psychiatry, Is It Now Okay?-Enlarging the Boundary of Psychiatry in the Neuroscience Era

The authors, in this paper, addressed a variety of problems and difficulties which Korean psychiatrists should cope with. The surprising development of neurosciences, splitting of neuropsychiatry into neurology and psychiatry, easygoing attitude of psychiatrists, changes in the delivery system of health care and ill-balanced education of psychiary were listed as causes of or contributors to them. Social bias to psychiatry and regulations from outside are also considered as contributors. Psychiatric education, including medical school, residency training, continuing medical education and psychiatric textbooks, need to be changed in order to enlarge the boundary of psychiatry. Reestablishment of identity of psychiatry and psychiatrist is unavoidable, considering far-reaching new knowledge of neuroscience and gradually invisible borderzone between neurology and psychiatry. The other ways worth while to consider are : the expansion of psychiatrists' activities, development of medical behavioral science to a clinical specialty, creation of new psychiatric subspecialties, and additional training of psychiatric residencies in the primary medical care.

The Behavior Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale, Korean Version (BEHAVE-AD-K): Factor Structure among Alzheimer's Disease Inpatients

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine the factor structure of the BEHAVE-AD, Korean version, and to identify the cross-cultural validity of the observed factors . DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of geriatric patients evaluated at a mental hospital for the elderly. SAMPLE: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) according to NINCDS-ADRDA diagnostic criteria (52 probable AD and 60 possible AD). RESULTS: Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in a five-factor solution that accounted for 50.0% of the common variance. The five factors included behavioral dyscontrol (wandering, purposeless activity, inappropriate activity, verbal aggressiveness, physical threats/ violence), anxiety (agitation, anxiety of upcoming events, other anxiety, fear of being left alone and other phobia), delusions (delusion of theft, delusion one's house is not one's home, delusion of infidelity, suspiciousness/paranoia, other delusion), hallucination (visual hallucination, auditory hallucination), depression (delusion of abandonment, tearfulness, depressed mood). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the BEHAVE-AD measures a wide range of behavioral pathology that can be empirically represented by five independent symptom clusters among AD patients admitted in a mental hospital for the Korean elderly. Cross-cultural persepctive may be necessary to interpret factor structure of this study compared to other studies from Western countries.