BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between the airborne toluene concentrations and the daily urinary metabolites such as hippuric acid and o-cresol for a sequential 5 days and to provide the appropriate sampling time for a special physical examination in the workers exposed to toluene. METHODS: The volunteers of 36 workers in the shoe making company were selected to measure the concentrations of airborne toluene exposure and to sample the daily urines in pre and end-shift for sequential 5 days form Monday to Friday and to get self-administered questionnaire including the items such as job records, disease records, smoking, alcohol drinking, eating some foods containing benzoic acid before work. RESULTS: The geometric means of toluene concentrations showed 46.40 ppm as the lowest value on Monday and 62.31 ppm as the highest one on Thursday. But there is no significant difference between both of those. The concentrations of hippuric acid and o-cresol in urine sampled on end-shift were higher than that of the others and showed statistically significant differences on each day. The metabolites of toluene were not related with taking alcohol and some foods containing benzoic acid as a result of logistic regression. CONCLUSION: From the above results, it is suggested that the hippuric acid and o-cresol in urine be very useful for biological monitoring in the workers exposed to toluene. Moreover, the daily hippuric acid and o-cresol concentrations in urine are also important for toluene exposure assessment and the further study has to be conducted to find out the tendency of biological exposure indices for continuous toluene exposure.
Alcohol Drinking ; Benzoic Acid ; Eating ; Environmental Monitoring ; Logistic Models ; Physical Examination ; Shoes ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Toluene* ; Volunteers ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This report describes the first clinical case of a transfusion-associated Mycoplasma haemocanis infection in a dog in Korea. A 6-year-old male Maltese underwent a red blood cell transfusion for idiopathic immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Eighteen days after the blood transfusion, the recipient’s packed cell volume decreased and basophilic organisms were found on erythrocytes. A polymerase chain reaction and sequential analysis showed that both the donor dog and recipient dog had M. haemocanis. Six weeks after doxycycline administration, no organisms were detected and the recipient’s anemia had improved.

BACKGROUND: Gross anatomy and sectional anatomy of a monkey should be known by students and researchers of veterinary medicine and medical research. However, materials to learn the anatomy of a monkey are scarce. Thus, the objective of this study was to produce a Visible Monkey data set containing cross sectional images, computed tomographs (CTs), and magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of a monkey whole body. METHODS: Before and after sacrifice, a female rhesus monkey was used for 3 Tesla MRI and CT scanning. The monkey was frozen and sectioned at 0.05 mm intervals for the head region and at 0.5 mm intervals for the rest of the body using a cryomacrotome. Each sectioned surface was photographed using a digital camera to obtain horizontal sectioned images. Segmentation of sectioned images was performed to elaborate three-dimensional (3D) models of the skin and brain. RESULTS: A total of 1,612 horizontal sectioned images of the head and 1,355 images of the remaining region were obtained. The small pixel size (0.024 mm × 0.024 mm) and real color (48 bits color) of these images enabled observations of minute structures. CONCLUSION: Due to small intervals of these images, continuous structures could be traced completely. Moreover, 3D models of the skin and brain could be used for virtual dissections. Sectioned images of this study will enhance the understanding of monkey anatomy and foster further studies. These images will be provided to any requesting researcher free of charge.
Anatomy, Cross-Sectional ; Brain ; Dataset ; Female ; Haplorhini ; Head ; Humans ; Macaca mulatta ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Primates ; Skin ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Veterinary Medicine

A variety of toxins cause parkinsonism and the lesions are primarily in the pallidostriatum. It usually does not respond to levodopa. We experienced a patient whose parkinsonian features developed after accidental acetone ingestion. She had rigidity, bradykinesia, gait disturbance and her speech was sluggish. Brain MRI showed bilateral basal ganglionic lesions. She was treated with levodopa and her neurological symptoms improved. To our knowledge, there has not been any previous reports of acetone causing parkinsonism. Acetone may cause parkinsonism by damaging the basal ganglia.
Acetone* ; Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Eating ; Gait ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Hypokinesia ; Levodopa ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Parkinsonian Disorders*

No abstract available.
Aluminum* ; Parkinsonian Disorders*

A new blood bank system was established in our trauma bay, which allowed immediate utilization of uncross-matched type O packed red blood cells (UORBCs). We investigated the efficacy of UORBC compared to that of the ABO type-specific packed red blood cells (ABO RBCs) from before the bank was installed. From March 2016 to February 2017, data from trauma patients who received UORBCs in the trauma bay were compared with those of trauma patients who received ABO RBCs from January 2013 to December 2015. Propensity matching was used to overcome retrospective bias. The primary outcome was 24-hour mortality, while the secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS). Data from 252 patients were reviewed and UORBCs were administered to 64 patients. The time to transfusion from emergency room admission was shorter in the UORBC group (11 [7–16] minutes vs. 44 [29–72] minutes, P < 0.001). After propensity matching, 47 patients were included in each group. The 24-hour mortality (4 [8.5%] vs. 9 [13.8%], P = 0.135), in-hospital mortality (14 [29.8%] vs. 18 [38.3%], P = 0.384), and ICU LOS (9 [4–19] days vs. 5 [0–19] days, P = 0.155) did not differ significantly between groups. The utilization of UORBCs resulted in a faster transfusion but did not significantly improve the clinical outcomes in traumatic shock patients in this study. However, the tendency for lower mortality in the UORBC group suggested the need for a large study.
Bays ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Blood Banks ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Erythrocyte Transfusion* ; Erythrocytes* ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Propensity Score* ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock* ; Shock, Traumatic ; Trauma Centers ; Wounds and Injuries

Sixteen genomic DNA simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers of Lentinula edodes were developed from 205 SSR motifs present in 46.1-Mb long L. edodes genome sequences. The number of alleles ranged from 3–14 and the major allele frequency was distributed from 0.17–0.96. The values of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.00–0.76 and 0.07–0.90, respectively. The polymorphic information content value ranged from 0.07–0.89. A dendrogram, based on 16 SSR markers clustered by the paired hierarchical clustering' method, showed that 33 shiitake cultivars could be divided into three major groups and successfully identified. These SSR markers will contribute to the efficient breeding of this species by providing diversity in shiitake varieties. Furthermore, the genomic information covered by the markers can provide a valuable resource for genetic linkage map construction, molecular mapping, and marker-assisted selection in the shiitake mushroom.
Alleles ; Breeding ; DNA* ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Linkage ; Genetic Variation ; Genome ; Lentinula* ; Methods ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Shiitake Mushrooms*

Diagnosis of scrub typhus is challenging due to its more than twenty serotypes and the similar clinical symptoms with other acute febrile illnesses including leptospirosis, murine typhus and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Accuracy and rapidity of a diagnostic test to Orientia tsutsugamushi is an important step to diagnose this disease. To discriminate scrub typhus from other diseases, the improved ImmuneMed Scrub Typhus Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) was evaluated in Korea and Sri Lanka. The sensitivity at the base of each IgM and IgG indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) in Korean patients was 98.6% and 97.1%, and the specificity was 98.2% and 97.7% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for retrospective diagnosis at the base of IFA in Sri Lanka was 92.1% and 96.1%. ImmuneMed RDT was not reactive to any serum from seventeen diseases including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (n = 48), leptospirosis (n = 23), and murine typhus (n = 48). ImmuneMed RDT shows superior sensitivity (98.6% and 97.1%) compared with SD Bioline RDT (84.4% at IgM and 83.3% at IgG) in Korea. The retrospective diagnosis of ImmuneMed RDT exhibits 94.0% identity with enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using South India patient serum samples. These results suggest that this RDT can replace other diagnostic tests and is applicable for global diagnosis of scrub typhus. This rapid and accurate diagnosis will be beneficial for diagnosing and managing scrub typhus.
Antibodies, Bacterial/blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Immunoglobulin M/blood ; Orientia tsutsugamushi/immunology ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Retrospective Studies ; Scrub Typhus/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Despite efforts to treat critically ill patients who require continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) due to acute kidney injury (AKI), their mortality risk remains high. This condition may be attributable to complications of CRRT, such as arrhythmias. Here, we addressed the occurrence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) during CRRT and its relationship with patient outcomes. Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 2,397 patients who started CRRT due to AKI from 2010 to 2020 at Seoul National University Hospital in Korea. The occurrence of VT was evaluated from the initiation of CRRT until weaning from CRRT. The odds ratios (ORs) of mortality outcomes were measured using logistic regression models after adjustment for multiple variables. Results: VT occurred in 150 patients (6.3%) after starting CRRT. Among them, 95 cases were defined as sustained VT (i.e., lasting ≥30 seconds), and the other 55 cases were defined as non-sustained VT (i.e., lasting <30 seconds). The occurrence of sustained VT was associated with a higher mortality rate than a nonoccurrence (OR, 2.04 and 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–3.39 for the 30- day mortality; OR, 4.06 and 95% CI, 2.04–8.08 for the 90-day mortality). The mortality risk did not differ between patients with non-sustained VT and nonoccurrence. A history of myocardial infarction, vasopressor use, and certain trends of blood laboratory findings (such as acidosis and hyperkalemia) were associated with the subsequent risk of sustained VT. Conclusion: Sustained VT occurrence after starting CRRT is associated with increased patient mortality. The monitoring of electrolytes and acid-base status during CRRT is essential because of its relationship with the risk of VT.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial aneurysms are not common in young age patients. We sought to find the characteristics of the intracranial aneurysms in patients under 20 years of age.METHODS: We reviewed 23 consecutive patients ≤20 years of age treated for their intracranial aneurysms during the period from 1995 to 2017. From medical records and imaging studies, we gathered data on age, sex, presentation, associated medical condition, location and characteristics of aneurysms, treatment and clinical outcomes.RESULTS: The patients’ ages ranged from 13 months to 20 years (median, 14 years). There were 16 males and seven females (male to female ratio, 2.3 : 1) with 31 aneurysms. Clinical presentations included sudden severe headache in 61%, followed by altered mentality in 17% and seizure in 17%. More than one-fourth patients had specific medical conditions related to the development of the cerebral aneurysms. The majority of aneurysms occurred in the anterior circulation (71%), and were saccular (71%). There were each three patients with false aneurysms (13%) and giant aneurysms (13%), and only one patient with multiple aneurysms (4%). We treated 22 patients : 21 aneurysms with the endovascular methods, three with open surgery, and one with combined treatment. Good functional outcome could be achieved in 86% during the follow-up period.CONCLUSION: In this series, the young-age patients with intracranial aneurysms were characterized by male predominance, related specific medical conditions, low incidence of multiple aneurysms, high incidence of giant aneurysms and good functional outcome after treatment.
Adolescent ; Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False ; Child ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pediatrics ; Risk Factors ; Seizures ; Treatment Outcome