Person-Organization Value Congruence between Authentic Leadership of Head Nurses and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Clinical Nurses / 간호행정학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of person-organization value congruence between the authentic leadership of head nurses and the organizational citizenship behavior perceived by hospital nurses. METHODS: The participants were 211 nurses working in 3 general hospitals located in C-city, in South Korea. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlations and structural equation model (SEM) with the PASW 24 and AMOS 24 program. RESULTS: Authentic leadership of head nurses had a statistically significant positive correlation with person-organization value congruence (r=.34, p < .001). Also, authentic leadership of head nurses (r=.50, p < .001), and person-organization value congruence (r=.62, p < .001) showed a statistically significant positive correlation with organizational citizenship behavior. There was a partial mediating effect of person-organization value congruence between authentic leadership of head nurse and organizational citizenship behavior perceived by hospital nurses (χ2=205.78, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that nurse managers need to improve the person-organization value congruence and authentic leadership of head nurses to reinforce organizational citizenship behavior of nurses in human resource management.

Construction of EST Database for Comparative Gene Studies of Acanthamoeba

The genus Acanthamoeba can cause severe infections such as granulomatous amebic encephalitis and amebic keratitis in humans. However, little genomic information of Acanthamoeba has been reported. Here, we constructed Acanthamoeba expressed sequence tags (EST) database (Acanthamoeba EST DB) derived from our 4 kinds of Acanthamoeba cDNA library. The Acanthamoeba EST DB contains 3,897 EST generated from amebae under various conditions of long term in vitro culture, mouse brain passage, or encystation, and downloaded data of Acanthamoeba from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Taxonomically Broad EST Database (TBestDB). The almost reported cDNA/genomic sequences of Acanthamoeba provide stand alone BLAST system with nucleotide (BLAST NT) and amino acid (BLAST AA) sequence database. In BLAST results, each gene links for the significant information including sequence data, gene orthology annotations, relevant references, and a BlastX result. This is the first attempt for construction of Acanthamoeba database with genes expressed in diverse conditions. These data were integrated into a database (http://www.amoeba.or.kr).

Inactivation of TPEF Gene by Aberrant Methylation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Abnormalities of genomic methylation patterns have been shown to play a role in the development of carcinoma, and the silencing of tumor suppressor genes is related to local de novo methylation. METHODS: Using methylation specific arbitrarily primed-Polymerase Chain Reaction (Ms AP-PCR), we identified a 322 bp sequence that contained a 5' un-translated and exon1 regions of the TPEF gene. To evaluate the inactivation of the TPEF gene through hypermethylation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we investigated the correlation between methylation patterns and TPEF expression in tumor tissues of human HCC and cell lines via a Combined Bisulfite Restriction Assay (CoBRA) and RT-PCR. RESULTS: A dense methylation pattern of the TPEF was detected in most cell lines, as well as in 10 of the 14 (71.4%) HCC tissues. In addition, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) from the TPEF gene was observed in 5 of the 14 (36%) HCC tissues. Furthermore, RT-PCR analysis revealed TPEF expression in 5 of 8 (62.5%) cell lines. Finally, treatment with a demethylating agent, 5-Aza- 2'-deoxycitidine (5-AzaC), increased the expression of TPEF mRNA. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that inactivation of the TPEF gene through hypermethylation may be a mechanism by which tumorigenesis occurs in HCC.

Use of real-time quantitative PCR to identify high expressed genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer among men in the developed world affecting the tongue, pharynx, larynx and oral cavity. HNSCC is thought to represent a multistep process whereby carcinogen exposure leads to genetic instability in the tissue and accumulation of specific genetic events, which result in dysregulation of proliferation, differentiation, and cell loss and the acquisition of invasive capacity. Despite therapeutic and diagnostic progress in oncology during the past decades, the prognosis of HNSCC remains poor. Thus it seems that finding a biological tumor markers which will increase the early diagnosis and treatment monitoring rates, is of paramount importance in respect to improving prognosis. In an effort to identify gene expression signatures that may serve as biomarkers, this study several genes were selected, such as H3,3A, S100A7, UCHL1, GSTP1, PAI-2, PLK, TGFbeta1 and bFGF, and used 7 HNSCC cell lines that were established various anatomical sites, and also 17 other cancer cell lines were used for control group using real-time quantitative RT-PCR and immunocytochemical analysis with a monoclonal antibody. In this study, S100A7 showed a clearly restricted occurrence in tongue originated cell line, and GSTP1 expression level in the pharynx originated cell line was very increased, relative to corresponding other cell lines. These results suggest that S100A7 and GSTP1 genes' expression can occur during tongue and pharynx originated head and neck tumorigenesis and that genetic change is an important driving force in the carcinogenesis process. This data indicate that S100A7 and GSTP1 expression pattern in HNSCC reflect both diagnostic clue and biological marker. And this is provides a foundation for the development of site-specific diagnostic strategies and treatments for HNSCC.

Effects of Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor NS-398 Pretreatment on the Rat Spinal Cord after Contusion Injury

BACKGROUND: Secondary spinal cord injury (SCI) that follows an initial mechanical insult can exacerbate the overall damage, limit the restorative processes and eventually lead to an in- creased neurological deficit. We hypothesized that selective inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may decrease the delayed cell death, and so this will contribute to decreased level of the secondary injury. METHODS: The dorsal surface of the cord at the T9 level was subjected to weight drop impact using a 10 g rod. To block COX-2 activation, a selective COX-2 inhibitor (NS-398) was administered (5 mg/kg, i.p.) 15 min prior to SCI. The COX-1, COX-2, Caspase-3 and PGE2 expressions were measured by real time quantitative RT-PCR and fluorescence immunostaining. RESULTS: Many activated caspase-3 positive cells were observed at 6 h and they increased until 72 h after SCI. The expression of COX-2 peaked at 6 h after SCI, while the COX-1 expression was unaffected. The principal cells that showed a COX-2 expression were the neurons and microglia. Pretreatment with NS-398 caused a significant decrease in the expression of prostaglandin E2 and activated caspase-3 positive cells after SCI. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that COX-2 is one of the main factors related with the pathologic deficits from secondary SCI.

Effects of Genistein and Daidzein on the Growth of Human Colon Cancer HCT-116 Cells

BACKGROUND: Genistein and daidzein are two major soybean isoflavones. They have received increasing attention because of their possible roles for cancer prevention. However, their mechanisms of action and molecular targets on the human colon cancer cells are not fully understood. METHODS: Human colon cancer HCT-116 cells were treated with genistein and daidzein to investigate their effects on the cell growth and this was analyzed with MTT assay. TUNEL assay and Hoechst33342 stain were carried out to identify apotosis. RESULTS: Daidzein was able to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of the HCT-116 cells, but genistein didn't affect the cell growth. The ER antagonist ICI182780 didn't attenuate the antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of daidzein: this means the effect of daidzein on the HCT-116 cells may not be dependent on the ER pathway. The other soybean isoflavone, genistein, attenuated the effects of daidzein on the HCT-116 cells and its mechanism should be elucidated. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that daidzein may act as a preventive agent on human colon cancer, and its mechanism of action doesn't involve the ER-dependent pathway.

Cefuroxime Induced Immune Hemolytic Anemia / 대한임상병리학회지

Cephalosporins are commonly used antibiotics in treatment of clinical infection. They frequently cause a positive direct antiglobulin test, but rarely cause hemolysis. The authors report a case of immune hemolytic anemia due to a second-generation cephalosporin, cefuroxime, by the drug adsorption mechanism.