Role of LAMMER Kinase in Cell Wall Biogenesis during Vegetative Growth of Aspergillus nidulans

Depending on the acquisition of developmental competence, the expression of genes for beta-1,3-glucan synthase and chitin synthase was affected in different ways by Aspergillus nidulans LAMMER kinase. LAMMER kinase deletion, DeltalkhA, led to decrease in beta-1,3-glucan, but increase in chitin content. The DeltalkhA strain was also resistant to nikkomycin Z.

Association between Metabolic Syndrome and Gallbladder Polyps in Healthy Korean Adults

The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between gallbladder (GB) polyps and metabolic syndrome. A total of 5,685 healthy subjects were included, and 485 of these subjects had GB polyps and 744 had metabolic syndrome. In this study, metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to standards suggested by the AHA/NHLBI ATP III 2005, and abdominal obesity (> or = 90 cm in men and > or = 85 cm in women for Korean) was diagnosed according to standards set forth by the Korean Society for Study of Obesity. Biphasic logistic regression adjusted for age and gender was used to evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome and GB polyps. Subjects who were male (OR, 1.493; 95% CI, 1.11-2.00) and hepatitis B suface Ag (HBsAg) positive (OR, 1.591; 95% CI, 1.06-2.38) were significantly more likely to have GB polyps. The metabolic syndrome group had a higher risk of GB polyps (OR, 1.315; 95% CI, 1.01-1.69) than the group without metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, subjects who were HBsAg positive and male appear to be associated with the risk of GB polyps. The presence of metabolic syndrome also appears to be associated with the risk of GB polyps in Koreans.

A case of mammary-like glands carcinoma of the vulva / 대한내과학회지

Mammary-like glands are poorly recognized structures of normal vulvar skin. Here, we report the first case of primary mammary-like gland adenocarcinoma of the vulva in Korea and discuss the differential diagnosis and treatment of this rare tumor. A 62-year-old woman presented with an itching sensation and palpable mass of the vulva. Abdominal computed tomography showed multiple variable-sized nodules with peripheral rim enhancement in the liver. The pathology of the vulva and liver lesions was consistent with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, with positive staining for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, HER-2, and GCDFP-15. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging of the breast were normal. Given the histological findings in conjunction with the absence of a breast lesion, a diagnosis of primary mammary-like gland adenocarcinoma of the vulva was made. She died of pneumonia 7 weeks after the diagnosis.

A Case of Posttraumatic Pleural Effusion with Peripheral Eosinophilia / 결핵및호흡기질환

Eosinophilic pleural effusions (EPE) are defined as those effusions that contain at least 10% eosinophils, and EPE can be associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia in a variety of systemic diseases. There have been a few cases that have addressed the association of peripheral blood eosinophilia and posttraumatic EPE, and this condition can be misdiagnosed as being the result of other causes due to the delayed presentation. We report here on a case of 47-year-old male who presented with eosinophilic pleural effusion associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia at 2 months after minor chest trauma. We excluded the other possible causes such as consumption of drugs, parasite infection, malignancy, diseases of pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, autoimmune diseases and pulmonary thromboembolism. We observed his clinical course without specific treatment. Three months later, the pleural effusion completely disappeared and the number of peripheral eosinophils returned to normal.