Usefulness of Bacteriological Tests and sspE PCR for Identification of Bacillus cereus Group

The Bacillus cereus group includes B. anthracis, B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, B. mycoides, B. weihenstephanensis, B. pseudomycoides. The members of B. cereus group shares strong degree of DNA sequence similarity. Even though the biochemical test and bacteriological test have been used to identify the B. cereus group, an accurate identification system of the B. cereus group is required. We have developed a highly specific PCR-based assay for the B. cereus group chromosome using a sequence motif found within a spore structural gene (sspE). Using the assay, we were able to discriminate B. anthracis from the other members of B. cereus group. We also tried to find a new system for the B. cereus group identification. Five bacteriological tests (hemolysis, motility, penicillin susceptibility, rhizoid growth, toxic crystal formation), API system (API 50CHB & API 20E), MLST and sspE PCR were performed on 28 strains of the B. cereus group. The dendrogram generated from API system and bacteriological tests revealed that B. cereus and B. thuringiensis are grouped into the same cluster. In combination of sspE PCR and bacteriological tests, the dendrogram showed that 4 strains of B. cereus clustered within the same group. B. thuringiensis formed the subgroup in the same cluster. All strains of B. mycoides were encompassed together. Another cluster only included B. anthracis. The best system was determined to be sspE PCR and bacteriological tests. It is concluded that sspE PCR and bacteriological tests could be used for rapid discrimination and identification of B. anthracis and provided an effective means of differentiation between the B. cereus group.

Predictors of Medical Students' Beliefs about Intelligence: Affective and Cognitive Factors, Parental Interest, and Home Economic Status / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: To identify predictors of medical students' beliefs about intelligence among affective and cognitive factors, parental interest in children's education, and home economic status (HES). Of the 408 medical students who participated in this study, 398 completed and returned the questionnaires, yielding a total response rate of 97.5%. METHODS: Measures of students' beliefs about intelligence, intrinsic value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES were obtained. RESULTS: Spearman's correlations indicated that an entity theory of intelligence was negatively related to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES, and positively related to test anxiety. An incremental theory of intelligence was positively related to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES, and negatively related to test anxiety. Findings of independent t-tests showed that incremental theorists showed higher intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and lower test anxiety than entity theorists. A binary logistic regression analysis showed that 72.9% of the medical students in the study were accurately classified as either incremental theorists or entity theorists with respect to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and cognitive strategies. CONCLUSION: Medical educators need to be aware that medical students who have incremental beliefs about intelligence have higher intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, and lower test anxiety than those who have fixed beliefs about intelligence. Perhaps a training program needs to be developed to enhance medical students' conceptions of intelligence based on the findings.

Academic Motivation, Academic Stress, and Perceptions of Academic Performance in Medical Students / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: This study was to examine whether medical students' academic motivation, general academic stress influence their perceived academic performance. METHODS: Of the 606 medical students surveyed from two universities in Seoul and Incheon, 308 completed and returned the questionnaires yielding a total response rate of 50.8%. The final sample consisted of 129 premedical students (41.9%) and 179 medical students (58.1%). Of these, 189 were male (61.4%), 94 were female (30.5%), and 25 did not identify their gender (8.1%). Their average age was 22.43 years. Measures of students' academic motivation, general academic stress, medical stress, and their perceptions of academic performance were obtained. RESULTS: Pearson's correlations indicated that students' perceptions of academic performance were associated with academic motivation, general academic stress, and medical stress. It was observed that there were gender differences in 'perceptions of academic performance,' 'intrinsic academic motivation,' and 'extrinsic academic motivation.' Females scored themselves higher in 'perceptions of academic performance,'and 'ntrinsic academic motivation,'but lower in 'xtrinsic academic motivation'than did the males. Moreover, premedical students had higher 'perceptions of academic performance' and 'extrinsic academic motivation' scores, but lower 'eneral academic stress'and 'edical stress'scores than medical students. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the 'motivation'subscale from the academic motivation measure and 'social-psychological' subscale from the general academic stress measure predicted the perceptions of academic performances of the medical students after controlling for gender and education level. CONCLUSION: Medical educators need to be aware that medical students' perceived stress and their academic motivation affects their academic performance which can have a tremendous impact on their quality of life and psychological well-being. Perhaps an academic adjustment program needs to be developed to reduce students' perceived stress in medical training.

Comparison between Morphological Sex and Genotype Sex of Uzbekistan Ancient Bones Using Improved Amelogenin PCR Amplication Method / 체질인류학회지

Determination of male and female is important in anthropology, archeology and forensic science. This study was designed to compare genotype sex of improved amelogenin PCR amplication method with morphological sex of ancient human bones. Sixty human skulls which lived from the Bronze Age to twenties centuries and excavated in Uzbekistan were used in this study. Morphological sex was determined by Uzbekistan scientist, and genotype sex was determined by improved amelogenin PCR amplication developed in this study. Among 20 morphological males, 13 samples (65%) were genotypical male. Among 40 morphological females, 20 samples (50%) were genotypical male. In conclusion, morphological method might be inadequate for sex determination of ancient bones. The improved amelogenin PCR method will be useful in sex determination of ancient bones.

Genetic Variation in the NSP4 Gene of Human Rotavirus Isolated in Seoul

The nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) of rotavirus encoded by gene 10, plays an important role in rotavirus pathogenicity. In this study, NSP4 gene sequences of human rotaviruses circulating in Seoul, Korea between March 2004 and April 2005 were determined. The nucleotide sequence data indicated that the NSP4 genes of human rotavirus Korean isolates were 750 or 751 bases in length and encoded one open reading frame of 175 amino acids with two glycosylation sites. The NSP4 of Korean isolates exhibited amino acid sequence homologies between 59.4% and 98.9%. The NSP4 of CAU4 and CAU15 showed a high degree of amino acid sequence homologies with NSP4 genotype A viruses, but the NSP4 of CAU5, CAU6, CAU11, CAU14, CAU16 and CAU22 exhibited a high degree of amino acid sequence homologies with NSP4 genotype B viruses. Interestingly, CAU3 and CAU7 showed low degree of amino acid sequence homology with those of currently described NSP4 genotypes A to D and belonged a distinct lineage on the phylogenetic tree. These findings suggests that distinct NSP4 type was circulating among human rotavirus strains in the local community of Seoul and raising intriguing questions regarding possible explanations for new genotype.

Evaluation of repetitive sequence-based genomic fingerprinting for molecular classification and identification of vibrio species / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to compare the suitability of repetitive-PCR genomic fingerprinting procedures to investigate genetic relatedness of the genus Vibrio and its applicability for the molecular identification of Vibrio vulnificus. METHODS: Forty-eight Vibrio strains were included for this study. REP-, ERIC-, BOX- and SERE-PCR were compared with 13 members of the genus Vibrio. RESULTS: REP-, BOX- and SERE-PCR showed V. vulnificus strains could not be separated well from other Vibrio species. However, approximately 320 bp of highly discriminatory specific fragments was recovered from V. vulnificus strains by ERIC-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: ERIC-PCR could be used as rapid classification and identification methods of V. vulnificus from other members of the genus Vibrio.

Inhibition of Lethal Toxin Expression in Bacillus anthracis Using Antisense Technology

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax primarily in animals and rarely in humans. B. anthracis producing 'anthrax toxin', however, could be a major agent of biological warfare. Anthrax toxin is produced from the pXO1 plasmid encoding the lethal toxin (LeTx) consisted of the protective antigen (PA) and the lethal factor (LF). In this study, we tested whether specific antisense oligonucleotide could inhibit the gene expression in B. anthracis. The antisense oligonucleotide was forced into bacterial cells either by lipofection or heat shock method. The expression of LeTx in B. anthracis was analyzed by the Western blot analysis and the MTT assay using to Raw 264.7 cells. The LeTx protein was purified and used for the production of specific antibodies. The expression of LeTx could be confirmed only in B. anthracis strains haboring pXO1 plasmid. B. anthracis treated with the antisense oligonucleotide through heat shock method markedly inhibited the production of PA. In the Western blot analysis, the expression of PA was inhibited from 25 micrometer and was completely inhibited at 50 micrometer of the antisense oligonucleotide. In the MTT assay, the cytotoxicity was reduced to 20% at 20 micrometer of the antisense oligonucleotide. Above results suggest that the antisense technology would be applied for the research on gene function in B. anthracis.

Profile of Virulence Genes and Rep-PCR Genomic Fingerprinting on Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Patients with Urinary Tract Infection

The profile of virulence genes and repetitive element sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) genomic fingerprinting were determined on Escherichia coli strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infection to investigate genetic relatedness and its identification. Thirty nine strains of E. coli were examined genotypically by using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction for the presence of five urovirulence genes; pyelonephritis-associated pili (pap), S. fimbriae (sfa), afimbrial adhesin (afa), cytotoxic necrotizing factor (cnf ), and a-hemolysin (hly). As a result, genotype pap+sfa-afa-cnf -hly- was the most dominant (14 strains: 36%). But no urovirulence-genes were detected in 12 strains (31%). On the basis of rep-PCR, the dendrograms generated from REP-PCR and ERIC-PCR revealed that uropathogenic E. coli strains were clustered into non-uropathogenic E. coli ATCC 43894 O157:H7 with the degree of similarity 37% and 44%, respectively. On the contrary, BOX-PCR results showed that uropathogenic E. coli strains differed from non-uropathogenic E. coli ATCC 43894 O157:H7 with the degree of similarity 37%. According to these findings, REP-PCR and ERIC-PCR were unable to discriminate reliably uropathogenic E. coli from non-uropathogenic E. coli. However, BOX-PCR provided an effective mean of differentiating E. coli strains between uropathogenic and non-uropathogenic.

Culture of Rabbit Chondrocytes Using Chitosan Bead / 대한정형외과연구학회지

PURPOSE: To confirm the adhesion and matrix formation of chondrocytes which were cultured on chitosan beads and to elucidate the difference between the porous chitosan beads and non-porous chitsan beads as scaffold for chondrocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chondrocytes isolated from rabbit articular cartilage were cultured in vitro on porous and non-porous chitosan bead for 2 weeks. Histochemical (H&E stain, Toluidin blue stain) and scanning electromicroscopic approaches were used to compare the differences between two groups. RESULTS: In both groups, adhesion and proliferation of chondrocytes were observed on scanning electron microscopy. which were more active in the porous chitosan bead group. On histochemical staining with toluidine blue, the porous chitosan bead group showed stronger metachromasia than that of the non-porous chitosan bead. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that both chitosan beads could work as an effective scaffold for culturing chondrocytes, and that porous chitosan bead may be a better scaffold than non-porous chitosan bead because of cavities in former bead.

The Predictive Value of a Single Serum Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Level in Pregnancies Achieved by Intrauterine Insemination and In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer Program / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To clarify specific serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) levels on 11 days after intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) that could predict live birth. METHODS: Three hundred ninety-two pregnancies resulting from IUI and IVF-ET procedures between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2000 were evaluated. Serum quantitative beta-hCG levels were measured 11 days after IUI or ET using standard immunoradiometric assays. Pregnancy outcomes were categorized as spontaneous abortion, biochemical pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, singleton live birth, or multiple live birth. Statistical analyses were performed by analysis of variances, and Student's t-test. The sensitivity and specificity of serum beta-hCG level for predicting live birth were plotted using receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The multiple live birth group has significantly higher serum beta-hCG level among the different pregnancy outcome groups. The beta-hCG level on the eleventh day after IUI and IVF-ET was significantly higher in the live birth group than the non viable pregnancy group. At a threshold level of 65 mIU/ml, the serum beta-hCG level on the eleventh day after IUI had a positive predictive value of 78.9% in predicting live birth with 95% specificity. At a threshold level of 115 mIU/ml, the serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin level on the eleventh day after ET had a positive predictive value of 92.1% with 95% specificity. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that serum beta-hCG level on 11 days after IVF-ET could be a reliable indicator predicting pregnancy outcome.

Panhypopituitarism in a Pregnant Woman with Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome and Residual Pituitary Adenoma / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is one of the most serious complication of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and ovulation induction. High serum estradiol concentration can induce the increase of capillary permeability and fluid shift, and it can results in hypovolemia, hemoconcetration, thromboembolism, oliguria, ascites and even death. This physiologic changes of OHSS and/or pregnancy might induce the deterioration of pituitary function in patients with abnormal pituitary conditions such as low pituitary reserve or tumor. However, all this while, panhypopituitarism or pituitary apoplexy in a pregnant woman with OHSS and/or pituitary adenoma has not been reported. We have experienced a case of panhypopituitarism developed in a pregnant woman with severe OHSS and residual pituitary adenoma. She had residual prolactinoma, despite a transsphenoidal adenoidectomy, and had suffered from uncontrolled hyperprolactinemia (HPRL) and chronic anovulation. Therefore, she had taken ovulation induction for getting a pregnancy and conceived, but, in the conception cycle, she was hospitalized for management of severe OHSS and hyperemesis gravidarum. During the period of hospitalization, abrupt panhypopituitarism was developed unexpectedly. Therefore, we present this case with the brief review of literature.

Evaluation of rep-PCR Genomic Fingerprinting for the Molecular Systematics Study of Yersinia Species

No abstract available.

A Successful Full-term Delivery after Liver Transplantation in Patient with Wilson's Disease / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Liver transplantation has become a successful treatment modality for serious hepatic disease and it has been reported that there are successful pregnanies after liver transplantation. Previous reports regarding pregnancy after liver transplantation have described an increased risk of pregnancy complications, such as hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, and anemia. Hence, it is suggested that pregnancy after liver transplantation should be managed as high-risk pregnancy. We have experienced a case of successful full-term delivery after liver transplantation in patient with Wilson's disease and presented with brief review of literatures.

A Successful Full-term Delivery after Liver Transplantation in Patient with Wilson's Disease / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Liver transplantation has become a successful treatment modality for serious hepatic disease and it has been reported that there are successful pregnanies after liver transplantation. Previous reports regarding pregnancy after liver transplantation have described an increased risk of pregnancy complications, such as hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, and anemia. Hence, it is suggested that pregnancy after liver transplantation should be managed as high-risk pregnancy. We have experienced a case of successful full-term delivery after liver transplantation in patient with Wilson's disease and presented with brief review of literatures.

Identification and Molecular Taxonomy of Bacillus anthracis Based on Amplified Frgment Length Polymorphism

No abstract available.

Sequence Analysis of the VP4 Gene of Rotavirus Isolated from an Infant in Korea

No abstract available.

The Effect of Surfactant Treatment for Experimental Escherichi coli Pneumonia in Rats

PURPOSE: Recently, it has been reported that the disease with secondary surfactant deficiency such as pneumonia and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) improved in arterial blood gas analysis and pulmonary mechanics by surfactant treatment. In this study, we investigated the effect of surfactant in the experimentally induced E. coli pneumonia in rats. METHODS: 0.25 mL (0.5x109) E. coli suspension was injected intratracheally to the rats. After ventilating rats for 1 minute, 0.25 mL Surfactant TA (60 mg/mL phospholipid) was administered to the study group and normal saline to the control group. In about 12 hours, pneumonia symptoms developed, and the arterial blood gas analysis was performed with the blood obtained from abdominal aorta accessed by laparotomy. And then, bronchial lavage fluid (BAL) was obtained to perform cell count with differentials and E. coli culture, and to measure protein concentrations. The lungs were fixed in formalin for histological examination to compare the degree of inflammation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in PaO2, cell count, differential count, E. coli culture between the study group and the control group. The protein concentrations of BALs in the surfactant-treated group were significantly lower than those in the control group (277+/-164 mg/dL vs 1,030+/-410 mg/dL). The inflammatory changes were found in E. coli-infected lung tissues from both groups, but less prominent in the surfactant-treated group than in control. CONCLUSION: Surfactant treatment decreased both the protein concentration of BALs and the inflammatory changes of lung tissue in an experimental model of E. coli pneumonia in rats.

Analysis of cellular fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) for the identification of Bacillus anthracis

Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax has been classified into the Bacillus subgroup I with B. cereus, B. mycoides and B. thuringiensis based on morphological and DNA similarity. DNA studies have further indicated that these species have very AT-rich genomes and high homology, indeed it has been proposed that these four sub-species be recognized as members of the one species. Several methods have been developed to obtain good differentiation between these species. However, none of these methods provides the means for an absolutely correct differntiation. The analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) was employed as a quick, simple and reliable method for the identification of 21 B. anthracis strains and closley related strains. The most significant differences were found between B. anthracis and B. anthracis closely related strains in FAMEs profiles. All tested strains of B. anthracis had a branched fatty acid C17:1 Anteiso A, whereas the fraction of unsaturated fatty acid Iso C17:1 w10c was found in B. anthracis closely related strains. By UPGMA clustering analysis of FAMEs profiles, all of the tested strains were classified into two clusters defined at Euclidian distance value of 24.5. The tested strains of B. anthracis were clustered together including Bacillus sp. Kyungjoo 3. However, the isolates of B. anthracis closely related spp. Rho, S10A, 11R1, CAU9910, CAU9911, CAU9912 and CAU9913 were clustered with the other group. On the basis of these results, isolates of B. anthracis Bongchon, Kyungjoo 1, 2 and Bacillus sp. Kyungjoo 3 were reclassified as a B. anthracis. It is concluded that FAMEs analysis provides a sensitive and reliable method for the identification of B. anthracis from closely related taxa.

Typing and Sequence Analysis of the VP7 Gene of Rotavirus Isolated from Infants in Korea

No Abstract Available.

Identification and Molecular Evolution of Baillus anthracis Based on PEP - PCR Genomic Fingerprinting and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism

No Abstract Available.