OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between the presence of penetration or aspiration and the occurrence of the clinical indicators of dysphagia. The presence of penetration or aspiration is closely related to the clinical indicators of dysphagia. It is essential to understand these relationships in order to implement proper diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia. METHODS: Fifty-eight poststroke survivors were divided into two groups: patients with or without penetration or aspiration. Medical records and videofluoroscopic swallowing examinations were reviewed. The occurrence of clinical indicators of dysphagia between two groups was analyzed with Cross Tabulation and the Pearson chi-square test (p<0.05). RESULTS: Poststroke survivors with penetration or aspiration had significantly high occurrences of delayed initiation of the swallow (p=0.04) and reduced hyolaryngeal elevation (p<0.01) than those without penetration or aspiration. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that delayed initiation of the swallow is a strong physiological indicator of penetration or aspiration during the oral stage of swallowing in poststroke survivors. For the pharyngeal stage of swallowing, hyoid and laryngeal elevation is a key event related to occurrence of penetration or aspiration. Clinical indicators should be investigated further to allow appropriate implementation of treatment strategies for stroke survivors.
Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Oral Stage ; Stroke ; Survivors*

BACKGROUND: Respiratory viral infections can become epidemic due to high contagiosity. Since there was no rapid diagnostic method for complete diagnosis in the past, diagnosis was solely made on the basis of clinical symptoms or the time of infection. With recent developments in rapid diagnostic methods like multiplex reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, R-mix virus culture, etc., early detection and effective treatment of respiratory viral infections is possible. Herein, we compared the efficiency of multiplex RT-PCR and the R-mix virus culture for the rapid detection of respiratory viruses. METHODS: We used 96 nasopharyngeal swab specimens for culturing respiratory viruses using R-mix (Diagnostics Hybrids Inc., USA). Afterwards, multiplex RT-PCR was performed using specimens stored at -70degrees C. RESULTS: R-mix virus culture yielded positive results in 34 cases (35.4%) and multiplex RT-PCR in 73 cases (76.0%). Both methods yielded identical results in 51 cases (29 positive cases and 22 negative cases). Among 45 cases that showed different results, 40 showed negative results in R-mix virus culture and positive results in multiplex RT-PCR, and 1 showed positive result in R-mix virus culture and negative result in multiplex RT-PCR. Different viruses were detected in the remaining 4 cases by both the methods. CONCLUSIONS: Multiplex RT-PCR provided faster results and had higher detection rates than R-mix virus culture. Further, unlike R-mix virus culture, multiplex RT-PCR can be used to identify new respiratory viruses. Therefore, multiplex RT-PCR is more useful than R-mix virus culture in the diagnosis of respiratory virus infection.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral/analysis ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Respiratory Tract Infections/*virology ; Retrospective Studies ; *Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; *Virus Cultivation ; Virus Diseases/*diagnosis ; Viruses/genetics/*isolation &purification

OBJECTIVE: Tributyltin (TBT), an endocrine disrupting chemical, has been reported to decrease ovarian function by causing apoptosis in the ovary, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, we examined whether TBT increases the expression of adipogenesis-related genes in the ovary and the increased expression of these genes is associated with apoptosis induction. METHODS: Three-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered TBT (1 or 10 mg/kg body weight) or sesame oil as a control for 7 days. The ovaries were obtained and weighed on day 8, and then they were fixed for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) or frozen for RNA extraction. Using the total RNA of the ovaries, adipogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The ovarian weight was significantly decreased in rats administered 10 mg/kg TBT compared to that in control rats. As determined by the TUNEL assay, the number of apoptotic follicles in ovary was significantly increased in rats administered 10 mg/kg TBT. The real-time PCR results showed that the expression of adipogenesis-related genes such as PPARgamma, aP2, CD36, and PEPCK was increased after TBT administration. In addition, apoptosis-related genes such as TNFalpha and TNFR1 were expressed more in the TBT-administered rats compared with the control rats. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that TBT induces the expression of adipogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in the ovary leading to apoptosis in the ovarian follicles. These results suggest that the increased expression of adipogenesis-related genes in the ovary by TBT exposure might induce apoptosis resulting in a loss of ovarian function.
Adipogenesis ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase ; Female ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Ovarian Follicle ; Ovary ; PPAR gamma ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I ; RNA ; Sesame Oil ; Trialkyltin Compounds ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVE: Tributyltin (TBT), an endocrine disrupting chemical, has been reported to decrease ovarian function by causing apoptosis in the ovary, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, we examined whether TBT increases the expression of adipogenesis-related genes in the ovary and the increased expression of these genes is associated with apoptosis induction. METHODS: Three-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered TBT (1 or 10 mg/kg body weight) or sesame oil as a control for 7 days. The ovaries were obtained and weighed on day 8, and then they were fixed for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) or frozen for RNA extraction. Using the total RNA of the ovaries, adipogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The ovarian weight was significantly decreased in rats administered 10 mg/kg TBT compared to that in control rats. As determined by the TUNEL assay, the number of apoptotic follicles in ovary was significantly increased in rats administered 10 mg/kg TBT. The real-time PCR results showed that the expression of adipogenesis-related genes such as PPARgamma, aP2, CD36, and PEPCK was increased after TBT administration. In addition, apoptosis-related genes such as TNFalpha and TNFR1 were expressed more in the TBT-administered rats compared with the control rats. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that TBT induces the expression of adipogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in the ovary leading to apoptosis in the ovarian follicles. These results suggest that the increased expression of adipogenesis-related genes in the ovary by TBT exposure might induce apoptosis resulting in a loss of ovarian function.
Adipogenesis ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase ; Female ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Ovarian Follicle ; Ovary ; PPAR gamma ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I ; RNA ; Sesame Oil ; Trialkyltin Compounds ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVES: Problem behaviors pose a great obstacle to daily functioning in children with neurodevelopmental deficits and are an important target for treatment. In this study, we translated the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI)-01 into Korean language and tested its psychometric properties. METHODS: We attained the approval of the BPI author and performed standard translation-back translation. Then, professional caregivers examined appropriateness according to cultural and situational contexts in order to make necessary modifications of the Korean version of the BPI. RESULTS: The BPI-01, Korea-Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (K-SIB-R), and Child Behavior Checklist were completed for 98 autistic spectrum disorder or intellectual development disorder participants (mean age=28.3, standard deviation=7.3, range=10.1–51.7). The inter-rater reliability of the BPI-01 was found to be high (r=0.992–1.000). As for the results for concurrent validity for subscale items of BPI-01 and scales of SIB, correlations between SIB and BPI-01 subscales were statistically significant (r=0.357–0.672). CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the BPI-01 showed good psychometric properties with high reliability and sufficient convergent validity. Further examination of the validity of BPI-01 should be carried out with inclusion of younger aged children and a closer look at less frequently occurring symptoms.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Autistic Disorder ; Caregivers ; Checklist ; Child ; Child Behavior ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Problem Behavior ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Weights and Measures

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate differences in the anti-hepatitis A (HAV) antibody seropositivity rate by age and gender. Methods: We collected information on anti-HAV immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M status from samples submitted for HAV antibody testing in 2012–2022. A total of 1,333,615 cases were included in the analysis. Results: By age, the seropositivity rate was represented by a U-shaped curve, such that the rate was low for the group aged 20 to 39 years and higher in those who were younger or older. Over time, the curve shifted rightward, and the seropositivity rate declined gradually in the group aged 35 to 39 years and older. A gender-based difference in antibody seropositivity rate was especially noticeable in the group aged 20 to 29 years. This difference between genders widened in the participants’ early 20s—when men in the Republic of Korea enlist in the military—and the divergence continued subsequently for older individuals. Conclusion These results indicate a higher risk of severe infection among older individuals and a gender-based difference in seroprevalence. Therefore, it is necessary to implement policies to promote vaccination in adults.

BACKGROUND: Unexpected antibodies are important factors for hemolytic transfusion reactions. In the past, the tube method was used for detecting unexpected antibodies. The column agglutination method has recently been widely used because of its simplicity and it has a higher rate of detecting warm antibodies. In this study, we describe the frequency and distribution of unexpected antibodies in transfusion candidates during the recent 4 years and the transfusion characteristics in the identified cases. METHODS: Antibody screening tests were carried out on 44,008 sera using the column agglutination method from January, 2005 to December, 2008. The antibodies were screened and identified by the Ortho BioVue System (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ, USA). RESULTS: Of the 44,008 cases that underwent unexpected antibodies screening, 589 cases (1.3%) showed positive results. Unexpected antibodies were identified in 383 cases. The antibodies that were most frequently detected were anti-Lewis antibodies in 130 cases (34.0%). Among the warm antibodies, anti-Rh and anti-Kidd antibodies were detected in 67 cases (17.5%) and 2 cases (0.5%), respectively. Unidentified antibodies were detected in 133 cases (38.9%). Among the patients with unexpected antibodies, 137 cases (35.8%) had a history of previous transfusion and 244 cases (63.7%) had a history of previous transfusion or gestation. CONCLUSION: Anti-Lewis cold antibodies were the most frequently detected antibodies. Warm antibodies were also frequently detected, and these are clinically significant.
Agglutination ; Antibodies ; Blood Group Incompatibility ; Cold Temperature ; Humans ; Mass Screening

No abstract available.

Although trisomy 18 (Edwards' syndrome) or the terminal deletion syndromes of 18p and 18q have been occasionally detected, pseudoisodicentric chromosome 18 is a very rare constitutional chromosomal abnormality. We describe a case of pseudoisodicentric chromosome 18q without mosaicism, which was confirmed from fetal cells in the amniotic fluid used for prenatal diagnosis of multiple congenital anomalies. A 23-yr-old pregnant woman was suspected of having a fetal anomaly at 18(+3) weeks gestation. In sonography, the fetus showed multiple anomalies: bilateral overt ventriculomegaly in the brain, ventricular septal defect and valve anomaly in the heart, bilateral club foot, polydactyly, meningocele, and a single umbilical artery. The pregnancy was terminated and a conventional G-banded chromosome study was performed using amniotic fluid. Twenty metaphase cells among the cultured amniocytes showed a 46,XX,psu idic(18)(q22). Consequently, the fetus had partial trisomy (18pter-->q22) and partial monosomy (18q22-->qter). Both parents were confirmed to have a normal karyotype.
Abnormalities, Multiple/diagnosis/*genetics ; Centromere ; *Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Karyotyping ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis/*methods ; Trisomy ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; Young Adult

We report a recent case in which ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella flexneri was isolated from a 23-yr-old female patient with a history of travel to India. Prior to her admission to our internal medicine department, she experienced symptoms of high fever and generalized weakness from continuous watery diarrhea that developed midway during the trip. S. flexneri was isolated from the stool culture. Despite initial treatment with ciprofloxacin, the stool cultures continued to show S. flexneri growth. In the susceptibility test for antibiotics of the quinolone family, the isolate showed resistance to ciprofloxacin (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC], 8 microg/mL), norfloxacin (MIC, 32 microg/mL), ofloxacin (MIC, 8 microg/mL), nalidixic acid (MIC, 256 microg/mL), and intermediate resistance to levofloxacin (MIC, 4 microg/mL). In molecular studies for quinolone resistance related genes, plasmid borne-quinolone resistance genes such as qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, qepA, and oqxAB were not detected. Two mutations were observed in gyrA (248C-->T, 259G-->A) and 1 mutation in parC (239G-->T). The molecular characteristics of the isolated S. flexneri showed that the isolate was more similar to the strains isolated from the dysentery outbreak in India than those isolated from Korea.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/drug effects ; Dysentery, Bacillary/microbiology ; Feces/microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; India ; Mutation ; Quinolones/*pharmacology ; Shigella flexneri/drug effects/*isolation & purification/metabolism ; Travel ; Young Adult