Treatment of Fordyce spots with 5-aminolaevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Y J Kim
Publications and source records attributed to Y J Kim.
Prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in a hospital environment.
In recent years, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have emerged as an important cause of opportunistic nosocomial infections but there is little known about the isolation and identification of NTM in Korea. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of NTM in the hospital environment and identify the species. A total of 150 samples were collected from different parts of the hospital. NTM were isolated and identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the gene encoding rpoB and partial sequencing analysis of hsp65 and rpoB. In this study, 60 strains of NTM were isolated from 50 of the 150 samples. Half of the tap water samples (50 of 100) were positive for mycobacteria. An estimated 73.3% of the isolates were saprophytic, 21.7% were potentially pathogenic and 5% were unidentified. The presence of NTM in hospital tap water is not uncommon. Such water isolates might cause true nosocomial infection in immunocompromised patients, in addition to the risk of false-positive culture results.
Bacterial Proteins↗
Modulation of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in PC12 cells by K(ATP) channel block.
The present study investigated the effect of 5-hydroxydecanoate, a selective mitochondrial K(ATP) channel blocker, on the cytotoxicity of neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) in differentiated PC12 cells. 5-Hydroxydecanoate and glibenclamide (a cell surface and mitochondrial K(ATP) channel inhibitor) reduced the MPP(+)-induced cell death and GSH depletion and showed a maximal inhibitory effect at 5 and 10 microM, respectively. Addition of 5-hydroxydecanoate attenuated the MPP(+)-induced nuclear damage, changes in the mitochondrial membrane permeability and increase in the reactive oxygen species formation in PC12 cells. The results show that 5-hydroxydecanote may prevent the MPP(+)-induced viability loss in PC12 cells by suppressing formation of the mitochondrial permeability transition, leading to the cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation. This effect appears to be accomplished by the inhibitory action on the formation of reactive oxygen species and the depletion of GSH. The blockade of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels seems to prevent the MPP(+)-induced neuronal cell damage.
1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗
Study of J/psi-->pp[over],LambdaLambda[over] and observation of eta(c)-->LambdaLambda[over] at Belle.
We study the baryonic charmonium decays of B mesons B+-->etacK+ and B+-->J/psiK+, where the etac and J/psi subsequently decay into a pp[over] or LambdaLambda[over] pair. We measure the J/psi-->pp[over] and LambdaLambda[over] anisotropy parameters alphaB=-0.60+/-0.13+/-0.14 (pp[over]), -0.44+/-0.51+/-0.31 (LambdaLambda[over ]) and compare to results from e;{+}e;{-}-->J/psi formation experiments. We also report the first observation of etac-->LambdaLambda[over]. The measured branching fraction is B(etac-->LambdaLambda[over ])=(0.87(+0.24)/(-0.21)(stat)(+0.09/-0.14) (syst)+/-0.27(PDG))x10-3. This study is based on a 357 fb-1 data sample recorded on the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+ e- collider.
Journal Article↗
Observation of a near-threshold D(0)D[over](0)pi(0) enhancement in B-->D(0)D[over](0)pi(0)Kappa decay.
We report the first observation of a near-threshold enhancement in the D(0)D[over](0)pi(0) system from B-->D(0)D[over](0)pi(0)Kappa decays using a 414 fb(-1) data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance. The enhancement peaks at a mass M=3875.2+/-0.7(+0.3)/(-1.6) +/-0.8 MeV/c2 and the branching fraction for events in the peak is B(B-->D(0)D[over](0)pi(0)Kappa)=(1.22+/-0.31(+0.23)/(-0.30))x10(-4). The data were collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric e+ e- collider.
Journal Article↗
Cloning, expression, and characterization of a methionyl aminopeptidase from a hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus sp. NA1.
Genomic analysis of a hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus sp. NA1 revealed the presence of an 885-bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 295 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 32,981 Da. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence showed that amino acid residues important for catalytic activity and the metal binding ligands conserved in all of methionyl aminopeptidases (MetAP) were also conserved and belonged to type IIa MetAP. The protein, designated TNA1_MetAP (Thermococcus sp. NA1 MetAP), was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme was a Mn(2+)-, Ni(2+)-, Fe(2+)-, or Co(2+)-dependent metallopeptidase. Optimal MetAP activity against L: -methionine p-nitroanilide (Met-pNA) (K (m) = 0.68 mM) occurred at pH 7.0 and 80 to 90 degrees C. The MetAP was very unstable compared to Pyrococcus furiosus MetAP, which was completely inactivated by heating at 80 degrees C for 5 min. It seemed likely that the cysteine residue (Cys53) played a critical role in regulating the thermostability of TNA1_MetAP.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with reduced severity of acute graft-versus-host disease and nonrelapse mortality after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
This study investigated whether or not there is a correlation between the changes in the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Eighty-five patients undergoing allo-SCT were prospectively studied. The serum VEGF levels were measured on days 0, +7 and +14 after transplantation. The VEGF levels decreased significantly on day +7 and recovered on day +14. The highest levels from day +7 through day +14 were categorized by cluster analysis, which were then correlated with the nonrelapse mortality (NRM). There was a significant correlation between a low VEGF level and the occurrence of severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) including grade III-IV (P=0.029). The 1-year probability of NRM in patients with a low VEGF level was 22.5% compared with 3.5% for those with a high VEGF level (P=0.024). Multivariate analysis revealed clinically defined infections (P=0.011), advanced disease (P=0.014) and a low VEGF cluster (P=0.05) to be significantly associated with the occurrence of NRM in the cohort. In conclusion, low VEGF levels after allo-SCT are associated with NRM with an exacerbated severity of acute GVHD. VEGF monitoring after a transplant might identify those patients at risk of severe transplant-related mortality.
Acute Disease↗
The metallic composition of aerosols at three monitoring sites in Korea during winter 2002.
In the present study, the distribution patterns of various metals were analyzed and compared using PM samples collected concurrently from three monitoring sites located in Korea (Seoul, Busan, and Jeju island) in December 2002. As these sites can represent metal pollution with different degrees of anthropogenic activities, their concentration levels were distinguished in a systematic manner in the order of Jeju, Busan, and Seoul. By comparing the present data sets with those measured previously from other locations in Korea and around the world, we attempted to diagnose the general status of elemental pollution on the Korean peninsula. Through an application of different statistical approaches, the major processes controlling elemental levels were assessed for each of the three study sites. The results indicated the importance of both crustal and anthropogenic sources in all sites with their relative roles varying significantly from each other. The results of the metal analysis data, when examined in relation to back trajectory analysis, confirmed that their concentration changes are affected quite sensitively with air mass movement patterns. The overall results of this study consistently indicated the contribution of a strong anthropogenic source area (e.g., China) to the observed metal concentration levels in the study area, but the strengths of such signals vary considerably across the Korean peninsula.
Aerosols↗
7-Ketocholesterol enhances 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in PC12 cells.
The present study investigated the promoting effect of oxysterol 7-ketocholesterol against the cytotoxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) in differentiated PC12 cells. 7-Ketocholesterol significantly enhanced the MPP(+)-induced nuclear damage, decrease in the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, cytosolic accumulation of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-3, increase in the formation of reactive oxygen species and depletion of GSH. N-Acetylcysteine, ascorbate, trolox, carboxy-PTIO and Mn-TBAP reduced the cytotoxic effect of MPP(+) in the presence of 7-ketocholesterol. The results indicate that 7-ketocholesterol shows a synergistic effect against the cytotoxic effect of MPP(+). 7-Ketocholesterol may enhance the MPP(+)-induced viability loss in PC12 cells by promoting the mitochondrial membrane permeability change, release of cytochrome c and subsequent activation of caspase-3, which is associated with the increased formation of reactive oxygen species and depletion of GSH. The findings suggest that 7-ketocholesterol as a promoting agent for the formation of mitochondrial permeability transition may enhance the toxic neuronal cell injury.
Animals↗
Iron status and its association with pregnancy outcome in Korean pregnant women.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among Korean pregnant women and to assess the association between maternal hemoglobin (Hb) level and pregnancy outcome. DESIGN: A longitudinal study. SETTING: Ewha Womans University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. SUBJECTS: A total of 248 normal pregnant women of 24-28 weeks gestation and 190 babies born to the pregnant subjects. METHODS: Maternal anthropometry, blood parameters and pregnancy outcomes were measured. RESULTS: Mean Hb, serum iron concentration, transferrin saturation and total iron binding capacity of the subjects were 11.4 g/dl, 89.4 microg/dl, 18.7% and 484.6 microg/dl, respectively, and 30.2% of the subjects were anemic judged by Hb concentration of <10.5 g/dl. When subjects were classified into tertile groups based on Hb levels, the lowest tertile (HbT1) group had significantly lower concentrations of cord serum iron and albumin than those in the highest tertile (HbT3) group. Newborn infants from the HbT1 group had significantly higher rates of preterm delivery, low birth weight and low Apgar scores than those in other groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that maternal serum albumin and Hb level were the most important predictive variables for low birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of Korean pregnant women were at risk of anemia. Infants born to women with a low Hb level showed a lower birth weight, height and Apgar scores.
Adult↗
Prenatal vitamin C status is associated with placental apoptosis in normal-term human pregnancies.
Pregnancy is associated with increased susceptibility to oxidative stress. Deficiencies in antioxidants during pregnancy and placental oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may impair the development of the fetoplacental unit or the eventual offspring. In order to elucidate the association of prenatal status of vitamin C with the oxidative stress and apoptotic activity in normal full-term placentas, we evaluated the content of placental lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) and the trophoblast apoptotic index in normal-term human pregnancies. Tissue samples of placentas obtained from 80 normal-term pregnancies were categorized into 40 cases with a lower level of prenatal vitamin C (< 8.997 microg/ml) and 40 cases with a higher level of prenatal vitamin C (> or =11.734 microg/ml). We evaluated the placental LOX-1 content and the trophoblast apoptotic index with Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry, and then determined their correlation with the prenatal status of vitamin C. We confirmed that the trophoblast expression for the endothelial scavenger receptor LOX-1 and the apoptotic activity were significantly lower in the group with a higher prenatal level of vitamin C, indicating that placental oxidative stress and the apoptotic index were associated with the maternal status of vitamin C. We therefore postulate that the maternal status of antioxidant vitamins during pregnancy can affect fetal development.
Adult↗
CT of acute lower GI bleeding in chronic cholecystitis: concomitant pseudoaneurysm of cystic artery and cholecystocolonic fistula.
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Aged↗
Patterns of C-reactive protein release following allogeneic stem cell transplantation are correlated with leukemic relapse.
The C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase protein produced by hepatocytes, and is a reliable marker of systemic inflammation, which is relevant to the release of the proinflammatory cytokines. The value of monitoring the CRP levels after stem cell transplantation (SCT) can identify patients at risk of treatment-related complications and mortality. Inflammatory cytokines facilitate donor T-cell activation via antigen presenting cells immediately after SCT. This study examined the relationship between the post-SCT CRP levels and a leukemic relapse. Fifty-four consecutively transplanted patients who relapsed after the allogeneic SCT were compared with nonrelapsing patients. The serum CRP levels were measured on day 0 and every 7 days thereafter until 4 weeks after the SCT. The mean CRP levels throughout the early post-SCT episode were significantly lower in the relapsing patients than in those who did not experience relapse (mean+/-s.e.: 26.8 +/- 6.3 vs 65.3 +/- 9.4 for first week, P = 0.001; 23.9 +/- 3.8 vs 44.6 +/- 6.6 for second week, P = 0.008). Univariate analysis showed that the CRP level on the first and second week, and graft-versus-host disease were significantly associated with a relapse. Multivariate analysis showed that the CRP level on the first week was the strongest independent variable predicting the risk of a relapse after SCT (P = 0.04). These results indicate that the serum CRP levels early after allogeneic SCT might display the graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) effect. CRP is a surrogate of the proinflammatory cytokine release that was not measured in this study. The GvL effect appears to be efficiently strengthened by the high CRP levels that may be reflecting T-cell activation.
Adolescent↗
Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical studies of thymic-related tumours in thyroid gland: report of five cases.
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Aged↗
Common promoter polymorphism in monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 is associated with serum triglyceride levels and body mass index in non-diabetic individuals.
AIMS: Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that chronic low-grade inflammation related to innate immunity may play an important role in the pathophysiology of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 gene (CD14) acts as the receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and augments monocyte/macrophage inflammatory responses. METHODS: We have sequenced the gene, including all exons, exon/intron boundaries, and the -1.5 kb of the 5' flanking region. Two common loci (minor allele frequency > 0.05) were genotyped in 775 T2DM patients and 316 control subjects recruited in the Korean T2DM Study. RESULTS: Eight polymorphisms, including four non-synonymous forms, were identified in CD14. No polymorphisms were found in association with T2DM. However, one common promoter SNP (-260T>C) was significantly associated with both the serum triglyceride level (TG) and body mass index (BMI) in non-diabetic control subjects. Individuals who carried the minor allele (C) had higher TG levels (1.65 +/- 0.81 vs. 1.46 +/- 0.80 mmol/l; P = 0.0007) and BMI (23.96 +/- 3.00 vs. 23.28 +/- 3.22 kg/m(2); P = 0.04) as compared with subjects carrying T/T genotypes. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that lipid metabolism and obesity, important pathophysiological elements of T2DM and the metabolic syndrome, are regulated by complex mechanisms that include the CD14 gene polymorphism-mediated genetic propensity to non-specific inflammatory responses.
Base Sequence↗
Rule-based fuzzy inference system for estimating the influent COD/N ratio and ammonia load to a sequencing batch reactor.
A fuzzy inference system using sensor measurements was developed to estimate the influent COD/N ratio and ammonia load. The sensors measured ORP, DO and pH. The sensor profiles had a close relationship with the influent COD/N ratio and ammonia load. To confirm this operational knowledge for constructing a rule set, a correlation analysis was conducted. The results showed that a rule generation method based only on operational knowledge did not generate a sufficiently accurate relationship between sensor measurements and target variables. To compensate for this defect, a decision tree algorithm was used as a standardized method for rule generation. Given a set of inputs, this algorithm was used to determine the output variables. However, the generated rules could not estimate the continuous influent COD/N ratio and ammonia load. Fuzzified rules and the fuzzy inference system were developed to overcome this problem. The fuzzy inference system estimated the influent COD/N ratio and ammonia load quite well. When these results were compared to the results from a predictive polynomial neural network model, the fuzzy inference system was more stable.
Algorithms↗
Identification of the adverse effect of nitrate on the phosphate release rate and improvement of EBPR process models.
The adverse effect of nitrate on the phosphate release rate in the anaerobic phase was observed and was hardly explainable with conventional EBPR process models. Four possible mechanisms were proposed including substrate competition, reduced fermentation, parallel reaction and sequential reaction. Batch experiments were designed and conducted to identify the dominant mechanism. Results showed that the sequential reaction was the only possible mechanism where only denitrification occurred if any nitrate existed in the anaerobic phase. Then the phosphate release following after the nitrate was completely removed. Nitrate inhibition effect was added into the PHA storage rate to incorporate the sequential reaction in the conventional ASM3 plus EAWAG bio-P module (ASM3 + P). Nitrate inhibition coefficient, K(I,NO,PAO) was found to be as low as 0.05 mg/L. This correlated well with experimental observation where no also meant that the anaerobic compartment of a continuous flow reactor could be seriously affected by the residual nitrate contained in the sludge recycle flow. This phenomenon caused overestimation of the phosphate uptake rate and consequently underestimation of PO4(3-) -P concentration. This problem was resolved by incorporation of a nitrate inhibition term in the ASM3 + P for more accurate simulation of the EBPR process.
Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
Decision algorithm based on data mining for coagulant type and dosage in water treatment systems.
Water shortages are gradually accelerating because higher standards of living are required and water resources are more heavily utilised. Therefore, effective water treatment is necessary in order to retain the required quality and amount of water. General treatment includes coagulation, flocculation, filtering and disinfection. Coagulation, flocculation and disinfection are major components of water treatment processes. In this paper, a new automatic decision algorithm is proposed for coagulation. The proposed method shows how to determine the coagulant type and amount using data mining techniques.
Algorithms↗