Background: Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists have been used as adjuvants to modulate immune responses in both animals and humans. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the combined effects of the TLR 4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and the TLR 3 agonist polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) on equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs), and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs). Methods: The PBMCs, MoDCs, and BM-MSCs collected from three mixed breed horses were treated with MPL, Poly I:C, and their combination. The mRNA expression of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p40, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The combination of MPL and Poly I:C significantly upregulated immunomodulatory responses in equine cells/ without cytotoxicity. The combination induced greater mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and IL-6 than MPL or Poly I:C stimulation alone in PBMCs. In addition, the combination induced significantly higher mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-12p40 in MoDCs, and IL-8, MCP-1, and VEGF in BM-MSCs compared to stimulation with a single TLR agonist. Conclusions The combination of MPL and Poly I:C can be used as a potential adjuvant candidate for vaccines to aid in preventing infectious diseases in horses.

A 10-year-old boy with severe aplastic anemia was admitted for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. After conditioning chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and antithymocyte immunoglobulin, he presented with fever and abdominal pain on day 0 of stem cell transplantation. After diagnosis of acute appendicitis with minor perforation, appendectomy was performed just after cell infusion. A week after the procedure, he showed two huge liver abscesses in S4 and S6 segments. We used broad spectrum antibiotics along with antifungal agents. Percutaneous drainage was attempted, but no fluid was removed and no microorganisms were isolated. After 7 weeks of antibiotics and antifungal therapy, liver abscesses showed improvement. We report a case of successfully treated appendicitis with liver abscesses in a severely neutropenic patient during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Abdominal Pain ; Anemia, Aplastic ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Antifungal Agents ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Child ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Drug Therapy ; Fever ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Liver Abscess ; Male ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Typhlitis

PURPOSE: Thrombocytopenia is the most common hematologic abnormality diagnosed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We investigated the causes and neonatal outcomes of early-onset thrombocytopenia in preterm neonates and compared clinical outcomes between neonates in an early-onset thrombocytopenia group who have received and those who have not received platelet transfusion in order to assess the clinical significance of early-onset thrombocytopenia in preterm infants. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of preterm neonates born earlier than 34 weeks' gestation who were admitted to the NICU between January 2005 and September 2014. 412 preterm neonates born earlier than 34 weeks' gestation were enrolled. The early-onset thrombocytopenia group (n=90) had a platelet count < or =150,000/mL within the first 72 hours of life. We investigated maternal and neonatal characteristics, and neonatal outcomes in the group and compared these with those of a control group (n=322). RESULTS: The neonates with early-onset thrombocytopenia tended to have lower gestational age, birth weight and Apgar scores than controls. Maternal hypertension and lower Apgar score at birth were predictive factors of early-onset thrombocytopenia. No differences in clinical outcomes were observed between the two groups. Clinical outcomes did not significantly different between the groups regardless of whether the neonates received platelet transfusion or not. CONCLUSION: Early-onset thrombocytopenia had no effect on the neonatal outcomes of the preterm infants. Platelet transfusion did not affect the clinical outcomes of the neonates in the early-onset thrombocytopenia group. Thus, we suggest a lager controlled study on early-onset thrombocytopenia in newborns in order to establish more-efficient treatment guidelines.
Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infant, Newborn* ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Medical Records ; Parturition ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Transfusion ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombocytopenia*

Since the blastocyst is broken and spreads out on a flat plastic culture dish (two dimensional culture) during in vitro development, it has been difficult to study the implantation process. It also has been difficult to analyse the interactions between endometrial epithelial and stromal cells because of the lack of a long-term in vitro model which can stimulate in vivo characteristics, as these cells eventually fail to proliferate or cease to express differentiated functions. Recently nontransformed cell lines, CUE-P and CUS-V2, derived from rat endometrial epithelium and stroma were reported. In this study, morphology of CUE-P and CUS-V2 was examined and oxytocin gene expression by CUE-P cells was demonstrated by RT-PCR. The CUE-P cells have a cuboidal morphology and CUS-V2 cells resemble fibroblast and exhibit a spindle-like morphology. In RT-PCR, same size of PCR products of oxytocin gene at hypothalamus, uterus and CUE-P cells were demonstrated. These results showed three dimensional culture system could be made by using the new cell lines.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Cell Line* ; Epithelium* ; Fibroblasts ; Gene Expression ; Hypothalamus ; Oxytocin ; Plastics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats* ; Stromal Cells ; Uterus

Lange-Giedion syndrome, or trichorhinophalangeal syndrome type 2 (TRPSII), is a clinical syndrome characterized by mild growth restriction, mental retardation, microcephaly and dysmorphic face. Bulbous nose, large protruding ears and loose redundant skin are distinguishing features, as well as lax joints and phalangeal abnormalities of the hands and multiple exostoses. TRPS1 and EXT1 gene deletion are responsible for this. Diagnosis is mainly based on clinical and radiographic features. In Korea, no cases of this disease have been reported thus far. Along with a review of the literature, we report a case of TRPSII in a neonate who had peculiar face representing TRPSII, polydactyly, Mullerian duct cyst, and ptosis and was found to have an interstitial deletion of 8q23-24.1.
Diagnosis ; Ear ; Exostoses, Multiple Hereditary ; Gene Deletion ; Hand ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intellectual Disability ; Joints ; Korea ; Langer-Giedion Syndrome* ; Microcephaly ; Nose ; Polydactyly ; Skin

Background: The equine temporomandibular joint (TMJ) has a complex anatomical structure that makes diagnosis of TMJ disorders difficult. Computed tomography (CT) is now available in equine medicine; hence, TMJ evaluation has become more convenient. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe the CT features of the TMJ in Jeju horses and to compare these features with those of Thoroughbreds. Methods: In this report, the TMJs of 10 Jeju horses (mean age: 4.5 ± 1.9 yr; mean body weight: 282.6 ± 40.3 kg) and 6 Thoroughbreds (mean age: 7.3 ± 1.6 yr; mean body weight: 479.7 ± 44.0 kg) were examined using CT. After CT scanning, the Hounsfield units (HU) and height to width ratio (H:W) of the mandibular condyle were measured. Results: The mean H:W in Jeju horses was significantly lower than that in Thoroughbreds.The mean HU in Jeju horses was lower than that in Thoroughbreds; however, the difference was not significant. The most frequent CT finding was an irregular medial margin of the mandibular condyle in both breeds. Conclusions In this study, the shape of the mandibular condyle in Jeju horses was flatter than that in Thoroughbreds. This report could be useful in evaluating the TMJ in Jeju horses. Moreover, CT could be a pragmatic choice for the examination of the TMJ in horses.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the practices of a community meal program for older adults in rural areas during the agricultural off-season. METHODS: A survey was conducted from December 12 to December 22, 2016. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 150 cooking volunteers, who had participated in the community meal program in 50 villages. A total of 114 responses were returned from 44 villages and used for data analysis. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with the volunteers of eight villages. RESULTS: Most of the cooking volunteers were 50 years old or older and they participated in serving older adults meals for good will. The cooking volunteers perceived that the older adults in their community did not eat various foods, had difficulties in grocery shopping, and frequently consumed salty foods. During the agricultural off-season, 40.9% of villages served the older adults meals 6–7 days a week and 95.5% provided meals for lunch. An average of 21 to 40 older adults were served meals in each village. The cooking volunteers reported that the food preparation and meal service times were sufficient, recipes provided were useful, and menus met the preference of the older adults. At the end of the program, they felt proud of serving meals for older adults in the community. An increased awareness of healthy eating, interest in health, and consumption of nutritious meals, a decrease in loneliness among older adults, and the promotion of fellowship in the community were rated highly. The cooking volunteers expected additional support for cooking personnel and insisted that the program should be provided for the entire agricultural off-seasons. CONCLUSIONS: The community meal program during the agricultural off-season for the elderly in rural areas was effective in improving the dietary life of older adults, relieving their feelings of isolation, and promoting fellowship of the community. The volunteers felt workload due to a shortage of volunteers but answered that they were rewarded by helping older adults in their community.
Adult ; Aged ; Cooking ; Eating ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; Humans ; Loneliness ; Lunch ; Meals ; Reward ; Statistics as Topic ; Volunteers

A seven-month pregnant four-year-old Thoroughbred mare with colic weighing 600 kg was referred to the Jeju National University Equine Hospital. A physical examination and ultrasound suggested epiploic foramen entrapment. The patient underwent ileum resection and end-to-side jejunocecostomy. After surgery, the horse showed a consistent pain when introduced to feeding. A repeat laparotomy was performed to enlarge the stoma size with side-to-side jejunocecostomy. The repeat laparotomy was successful, and the mare gave birth uneventfully. This report describes a case of small intestinal epiploic foramen entrapment and the clinical outcomes of the 2 consecutive laparotomies a Thoroughbred mare in late gestation.

OBJECTIVES: Since the awareness of autism spectrum disorders(ASD) is growing, as a result, it is increasing numbers of infants and toddlers being referred to specialized clinics for a differential diagnosis and the importance of early autism spectrum disorders detection is emphasized. This study is to know the difference between ASD and intellectual disability(ID) from comparison of the demographics, clinical characters and obstetric complications. METHODS: The participants are 816 toddlers who visited the developmental delay clinic(DDC) in National Health Insurance Ilsan hospital. The number of toddlers diagnosed as ASD and ID was 324 and 492. 75 toddlers out of 114 who returned to DDC were diagnosed as ID at the first visit but 7 of them had changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. After compared ASD with ID from the first visit, we analyzed characters of toddlers who had the changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. RESULTS: As a result, the comparison between ASD and ID at the first visit shows that the boys have higher ratio, lower obstetric complication and lower language assessment score in ASD. The toddlers who had the changed diagnosis at the second visit were all boys and they had more cases of family history of developmental delay and had lower score of receptive language developmental quotient. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that sex, language characteristics and obstetric complication could be useful in the early detection of ASD.
Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Autistic Disorder* ; Demography ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Infant ; Intellectual Disability* ; Language Development ; National Health Programs

Most infants with repaired gastroschisis develop normally and remain in good health. About 10% of patients with gastroschisis have other malformations. We report a case of choledocholithiasis and intestinal malrotation in an adolescent with repaired gastroschisis. A 17-year-old girl presented with fever, jaundice, and abdominal pain. She had undergone an operation to repair gastroschisis at birth. Physical examination revealed icteric sclera, a tight abdominal wall, and a longitudinal surgical scar at the midline. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a round calcifying lesion near the pancreas and a midline-positioned liver and gallbladder. Absence of the retroperitoneal duodenum and the anterior and left-sided position of the superior mesenteric vein compared with the superior mesenteric artery were observed. Results of abarium examination revealed intestinal malrotation. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed diffuse dilatation of the biliary trees and a malpositioned gallbladder. A single stone was removed by using a basket. The clinical symptoms improved after the patient underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.
Abdominal Pain ; Abdominal Wall ; Adolescent* ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Choledocholithiasis* ; Cicatrix ; Dilatation ; Duodenum ; Female ; Fever ; Gallbladder ; Gastroschisis* ; Humans ; Infant ; Jaundice ; Liver ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Mesenteric Veins ; Pancreas ; Parturition ; Physical Examination ; Sclera