No abstract available.
Embryonic Structures* ; Humans*

This study aimed to investigate the existence of GABA receptor and the mechanisms of action of GABA and diazepam of the trachealis muscle isolated from dog. Horizontal muscle strips of 2mm×15mm were prepared from canine trachea, and isometric myography in isolated muscle chamber bubbled with 95/5%-O₂/CO₂ at 36℃, at the pH of 7.4 was performed. Muscle strips contracted responding to the electrical field stimulation (ESP) by 2~20 Hz, 20 msec, monophasic square wave of 60 VDC. GABA and diazepam suppressed the EFS-induced contractions to the similar extent, significantly. (p<0.05). Bicuculline, a GABA(A) receptor antagonist blocked both GABA- and diazepam-inhibitions; but DAVA, a GABA(B) receptor antagoinst did not affect either of them. These results suggest than in the canine trachealis muscle, there may be only GABA(A) receptor, and GABA and diazepam inhibit the contractility via GABA(A) receptor.
Animals ; Bicuculline ; Diazepam ; Dogs ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Myography ; Receptors, GABA ; Receptors, GABA-A ; Trachea

Twenty newly admitted acute schizophrenic patients were treated with haloperidol for 6 weeks. HVA and 5-HIAA were sampled at baseline, 3days after initial neuroleptic dose, and after 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 weeks of treatment. Nine patients were classified as responders in this prospective haloperidol treatment trial. They had a score of change in the BPRS total scores of 25% or greater. Eleven patients were classified as nonresponders, based on a score of changes in the BPRS total scores of less than 25%. 1) There was no significant difference in plasma HVA/5-HIAA ratio between responder and non-responder before and after haloperidol treatment. 2) There was no significant correlations between plasma HVA/5-HIAA ratio and BPRS total scores. This study could not support the hypothesis that neuroleptic treatment would be effective by changing dopamine and serotonin function and/or by altering their interaction.
Dopamine ; Haloperidol ; Humans ; Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid ; Plasma* ; Prospective Studies ; Schizophrenia* ; Serotonin

BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter spp. acquire antimicrobial agent-resistance genes via class 1 integrons. In this study, integrons were characterized to investigate the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of MDR Acinetobacter isolates. In addition, the relationship between the integron type and integron-harboring bacterial species was analyzed by using epidemiological typing methods. METHODS: Fifty-six MDR Acinetobacter spp.-A. baumannii (N=30), A. bereziniae (N=4), A. nosocomialis (N=5), and A. pittii (N=17)-were isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined on the basis of the results of the Epsilometer test (Etest). PCR and DNA sequencing was performed to characterize the gene cassette arrays of class 1 integrons. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence (REP)-PCR were performed for epidemiological typing. RESULTS: Class 1 integrons were detected in 50 (89.3%) of the 56 isolates, but no class 2 or 3 integron was found within the cohorts. The class 1 integrons were classified into 4 types: 2.3-kb type A (aacA4-catB8-aadA1), 3.0-kb type B (aacA4-blaI(MP-1)-bla(OXA-2)), 3.0-kb type C (bla(VIM-2)-aacA7-aadA1), and 1.8-kb type D (aac3-1-bla(OXA-2)-orfD). Type A was most prevalent and was detected only in A. baumannii isolates, except for one A. bereziniae isolate; however, type B was amplified in all Acinetobacter isolates except for A. baumannii isolates, regardless of clone and separation time of the bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: Although class 1 integron can be transferred horizontally between unrelated isolates belonging to different species, certain types of class 1 integrons tend to transfer horizontally and vertically among A. baumannii or non-baumannii Acinetobacter isolates.
Acinetobacter/drug effects/isolation & purification/*metabolism ; Acinetobacter Infections/epidemiology/microbiology ; Acinetobacter baumannii/drug effects/isolation & purification/metabolism ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; DNA, Bacterial/chemistry/metabolism ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; Humans ; Integrons/*genetics ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a clinically important pathogen that causes opportunistic infections and nosocomial outbreaks. Recently, the type III secretion system (TTSS) has been shown to play an important role in the virulence of P. aeruginosa. ExoU, in particular, has the greatest impact on disease severity. We examined the relationship among the TTSS effector genotype (exoS and exoU), fluoroquinolone resistance, and target site mutations in 66 carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa strains. METHODS: Sixty-six carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa strains were collected from patients in a university hospital in Daejeon, Korea, from January 2008 to May 2012. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin) were determined by using the agar dilution method. We used PCR and sequencing to determine the TTSS effector genotype and quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of the respective target genes gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE. RESULTS: A higher proportion of exoU+ strains were fluoroquinolone-resistant than exoS+ strains (93.2%, 41/44 vs. 45.0%, 9/20; P< or =0.0001). Additionally, exoU+ strains were more likely to carry combined mutations than exoS+ strains (97.6%, 40/41 vs. 70%, 7/10; P=0.021), and MIC increased as the number of active mutations increased. CONCLUSIONS: The recent overuse of fluoroquinolone has led to both increased resistance and enhanced virulence of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa. These data indicate a specific relationship among exoU genotype, fluoroquinolone resistance, and resistance-conferring mutations.
ADP Ribose Transferases/genetics ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics ; Bacterial Toxins/genetics ; Carbapenems/pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/*drug effects ; Fluoroquinolones/*pharmacology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Mutation ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/*genetics/isolation & purification/pathogenicity ; Sputum/microbiology ; Virulence

BACKGROUND: Hepcidin plays a central role in the regulation of iron metabolism, and hepatic iron production is stimulated by iron load and inflammation. Recent animal studies have shown that hepcidin levels increase when hematopoiesis is blocked. We aimed to monitor pre- and post-stem cell transplantation hepcidin levels and evaluate its association with hematologic recovery. METHODS: The study group comprised 12 patients with hematologic malignancies (7 with AML, 4 with ALL, and 1 with refractory anemia with excess blasts-2) undergoing allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). One day before and 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after PBSCT, reticulocyte count and levels of Hb, ferritin, and C-reactive protein were monitored; serum hepcidin-25 was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: The median serum hepcidin-25 levels (ng/mL) were significantly higher until 1 week after PBSCT (103.6, 103.3, and 96.5) than those at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after PBSCT (63.9, 53.9, and 56.6, respectively). The reticulocyte count also significantly increased from 2 weeks after PBSCT. The hepcidin level showed an inverse correlation with reticulocyte count (r=-0.56, P<0.001) and a weak positive correlation with ferritin (r=0.27, P=0.02). At 2 weeks, patients with high hepcidin levels (> or =63.9) tended to demonstrate lower Hb recovery at 8 weeks than patients with low hepcidin levels did (P=0.15), but without any differences in the incidence of complications. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that hepcidin production is associated with erythropoietic activity and that hepcidin level may be used as an early marker of hematopoietic recovery in PBSCT.
Anemia, Refractory ; Animals ; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cell Transplantation ; Ferritins ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Hematopoiesis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Iron ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Reticulocyte Count ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Transplants

Much has been learned of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the toxic shock syndrome (TSS) since the initial description in 1978 by Dr. James K, Todd. The clinical illness is defined by the criteria listed in the case definition formulated for epidemiologic studies. With the advent of widespread recognition of TSS, there have been numerous published reports describing the clinical and laboratory findings, primarily in menstruating females. And there have been also reported about six cases in Korea. Moreover, TSS is uncommon in the prepubertal age group and no case report in infant in Korea. We experienced two cases of TSS in infants aged 11/2 yrs and 9 months associated with respiratory infection-pneumonia, pyopneumothorax and localized skin abscess that were confused with Kawasaki disease (KD). The diagnosis was made on the basis of clinical features and laboratory findings, and the cases met the Centers of Disease Control case definition of TSS. And thus we report these cases and review related literatures.
Abscess ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant* ; Korea ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Shock, Septic* ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Hemoglobin (Hb)-A1c is routinely used for the management of diabetes. In 2010, HbA1c was included into the diagnostic criteria for diabetes by the American Diabetes Association. A newly developed HbA1c analyzer, ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 (ARKRAY KDK, Japan) was introduced. In this study, we evaluated the analytical performance of ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and compared it with the previously used Variant II Turbo (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA), which is a National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP) certified analyzer. METHODS: According to Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute (CLSI) evaluation protocol (EP) 5-A, Lyphochek Diabetes Controls (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA) are used for precision. Two (low and high) levels of quality control materials were analyzed twice a day for 20 days, after which the mean, total standard deviation (SD) and total coefficient of variation (CV), including the between-run CV and between-day CV were calculated. ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and Variant II Turbo were compared with 150 samples according to CLSI EP9-A2. In addition, the linearity and carry over rate were evaluated. RESULTS: Between-run CVs for low and high level quality control materials were 0.0% and 0.3%, respectively, whereas between-day CVs for low and high level quality control materials were 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. In the linearity test, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.99 (range, 3.1-19.3%). Thus, a good correlation was observed between ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and Variant II Turbo (R2=0.994). The carry over rate was 0.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer showed excellent precision, linearity, and carryover rate. It also showed excellent correlation with the NGSP certified Variant II Turbo. In conclusion, the ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer is a reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyzer for HbA1c analysis and could be very useful for the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and risk assessment of diabetes.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Hemoglobins ; Quality Control ; Risk Assessment

BACKGROUND: Hemoglobin (Hb)-A1c is routinely used for the management of diabetes. In 2010, HbA1c was included into the diagnostic criteria for diabetes by the American Diabetes Association. A newly developed HbA1c analyzer, ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 (ARKRAY KDK, Japan) was introduced. In this study, we evaluated the analytical performance of ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and compared it with the previously used Variant II Turbo (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA), which is a National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP) certified analyzer. METHODS: According to Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute (CLSI) evaluation protocol (EP) 5-A, Lyphochek Diabetes Controls (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA) are used for precision. Two (low and high) levels of quality control materials were analyzed twice a day for 20 days, after which the mean, total standard deviation (SD) and total coefficient of variation (CV), including the between-run CV and between-day CV were calculated. ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and Variant II Turbo were compared with 150 samples according to CLSI EP9-A2. In addition, the linearity and carry over rate were evaluated. RESULTS: Between-run CVs for low and high level quality control materials were 0.0% and 0.3%, respectively, whereas between-day CVs for low and high level quality control materials were 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. In the linearity test, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.99 (range, 3.1-19.3%). Thus, a good correlation was observed between ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer and Variant II Turbo (R2=0.994). The carry over rate was 0.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer showed excellent precision, linearity, and carryover rate. It also showed excellent correlation with the NGSP certified Variant II Turbo. In conclusion, the ARKRAY ADAMS HA-8180 HbA1c analyzer is a reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyzer for HbA1c analysis and could be very useful for the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and risk assessment of diabetes.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Hemoglobins ; Quality Control ; Risk Assessment

BACKGROUND: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common etiologic factor of cervical cancer. It was reported that the incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical carcinoma was increased when normal women was infected with HPV. To date, for detection and classification of HPV, it were used by hybridization method using the DNA probe specific for HPV and in situ hybridization method for fixed paraffinized tissue, but reported that these methods were inadequate for detection of HPV DNA because of low sensitivity and complex procedure. Compared with these methods, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was reported as a highly sensitive molecular biologic technique which could detect the HPV DNA in the cervical epithelial cell of women. Thus we used PCR for the investigation of detection rate of HPV 16 and 18, and its relationship with Pap smear class in normal women. METHODS: In 86 normal women, we had extracted the HPV DNA from cervical swab samples and then detected the presence of HPV DNA by nested PCR. RESULTS: In the cases of 86 normal women, the detection rate for HPV DNA was about 7.0%. In the cases of 26 women with Pap smear class I, the HPV DNA was not detected. And in the cases of 60 women with Pap smear class II, the detection rate for HPV DNA was about 10.0%; HPV subtype 16 about 6.7%; HPV subtype 18 about 1.7%; and the coinfection rate of HPV subtype 16 and 18 about 1.7%. CONCLUSIONS: We think that women who was previously infected with high-risk HPV should be examined for Pap smear test in regular time interval, and if the result of Pap smear was abnormal, then should be examined for the presence of the HPV DNA.
Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Classification ; Coinfection ; DNA ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; Humans* ; In Situ Hybridization ; Incidence ; Papillomavirus Infections* ; Paraffin ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms