Pet turtles are known as a source of Salmonella infection to humans when handled in captivity. Thirty four turtles purchased from pet shops and online markets in Korea were examined to determine whether the turtles and their environment were contaminated with Salmonella spp. Salmonella spp. were isolated from fecal samples of 17 turtles. These isolates were identified as S. enterica through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolation rate of Salmonella spp. from the soil and water samples increased over time. We concluded that a high percentage of turtles being sold in pet shops were infected with Salmonella spp., and their environments tend to become contaminated over time unless they are maintained properly. These results indicate that pet turtles could be a potential risk of salmonellosis in Korea.
Genes, rRNA ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence* ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella* ; Soil ; Turtles* ; Water

Ciliary rootlet coiled coil protein (CROCC), the structural component that originates from the basal body at the proximal end of the ciliary rootlet, plays a crucial role in maintaining the cellular integrity of ciliated cells. In the current study, we cloned Xenopus CROCC and performed the expression analysis. The amino acid sequence of Xenopus laevis was related to those of Drosophila, cow, goat, horse, chicken, mouse and human. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that CROCC mRNA encoding a coiled coil protein was present maternally, as well as throughout early development. In situ hybridization indicated that CROCC mRNA occurred in the animal pole of embryo during gastrulation and subsequently in the presumptive neuroectoderm at the end of gastrulation. At tailbud stages, CROCC mRNA expression was localized in the anterior roof plate of the developing brain, pharyngeal epithelium connected to gills, esophagus, olfactory placode, intestine and nephrostomes of the pronephric kidney. Our study suggests that CROCC may be responsible for control of the development of various ciliated organs.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Basal Bodies ; Brain ; Chickens ; Clone Cells ; Drosophila ; Embryonic Structures ; Epithelium ; Esophagus ; Gastrulation ; Gills ; Goats ; Horses ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Intestines ; Kidney ; Mice ; Neural Plate ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger* ; Xenopus laevis ; Xenopus*

No abstract available.
Anaplasmosis* ; Animals ; Humans* ; Korea* ; Scrub Typhus* ; Seasons*

Pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm (PAP) is a rare complication of septic pneumonia. It is potentially fatal because of the risk of massive hemoptysis. Treatment of PAP involving massive hemoptysis is by embolization or surgery. However, the progression of PAP after embolization has not been reported. A 59-year-old male who was recovering from septic pneumonia experienced massive hemoptysis. Computed tomography (CT) revealed PAP of the right pulmonary artery with surrounding consolidation, suggesting active hemorrhage. The patient was successfully treated with embolization of the right pulmonary artery. During outpatient follow-up, the amount of radiopaque embolized material gradually decreased on chest radiography. At 14 months after embolization, both the PAP and embolized material had disappeared on chest CT.
Aneurysm, False ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemoptysis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Outpatients ; Pneumonia ; Pulmonary Artery ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is frequently encountered in elderly patients whereas intensive chemotherapy yield lower rate of complete remission (CR) and survival than young patients. This study was aimed to review the clinical features and treatment outcomes of elderly patients (>or=60) with AML. METHODS: We respectively reviewed the clinical features, laboratory findings and outcomes of treatment from the medical records of 115 patients with the elderly AML (>or=60), admitted in Seoul National University Hospital, between Jan.1995 and Dec.2004. RESULTS: Their median age was 66 (60~86) years with male predominance (M:F=68:47). Complete response rate in patients with conventional chemotherapy was 66.7% (42 of 63 patients; 95% CI 50.2~78.4). Median overall survival (OS) was 5.2 months with clinical benefit in the conventional chemotherapy group, compared to supportive or palliative group (11.5 vs 0.9months; p<0.0001). In between two age groups, the sixties (n=69) showed higher CR rate (69.0 vs 61.9%; p=0.9) and longer median overall survival (7.0 vs 4.4months; p=0.8) than patients group of the seventies (n=38) but without statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional induction chemotherapy improved survival rate than palliative or supportive treatment.
Aged* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Male ; Medical Records ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies* ; Seoul ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the outcomes of using vascular closure devices following percutaneous transfemoral endovascular procedures in the patients who were treated with heparin, abciximab or thrombolytics (urokinase or t-PA) during the procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 28, 2003 to August 31, 2004, we conducted a prospective and randomized study in which 1,676 cases of 1,180 patients were treated with one of the two different closure devices (the collagen plug device was Angio-SealTM; the suture-mediated closure device was The Closer STM) at the femoral access site after instituting percutaneous endovascular procedures. Among the 1,676 cases, 108 cases (the drug group) were treated with heparin only (n = 94), thrombolytics only (n = 10), heparin and thrombolytics (n = 3), or abciximab and thrombolytics (n = 1) during the procedures; 1,568 cases (the no-drug group) were treated without any medication. We compared the efficacy and complications between the two groups. Of the drug group, 42 cases underwent arterial closures with the collagen plug devices and 66 cases underwent arterial closures with the suture-mediated closure devices. We also compared the efficacy and complications between these two groups. RESULTS: The immediate hemostasis rates were 92.9% (1,456/1,568) in the no-drug group and 91.7% (99/108) in the drug group. Early complications occurred in four cases of the drug group. These included two episodes of rebleeding with using the Closer S, which required manual compression for at least 10 minutes, and two episodes of minor oozing with using one Angio-Seal and one Closer S, which required two hours of additional bed rest. There was no late complication. So, the total success rates were 90.8% (1,423/1,568) in the no-drug group and 88.0% (95/108) in the drug group. These results were not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.34). In the drug group, the difference of the successful hemostasis rate between the collagen plug devices and the suture-mediated devices was also not statistically significant (92.9% vs. 84.8%, respectively; p = 0.21). CONCLUSION: Arterial closure of the femoral access site with using vascular closure devices is both safe and effective, even in the patients who received heparin, abciximab or thrombolytics.
Sutures ; Prospective Studies ; Postoperative Complications ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hemostatic Techniques/*instrumentation ; Hemostasis/*drug effects ; Fibrinolytic Agents/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Femoral Artery/*surgery ; Female ; Collagen ; Anticoagulants/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology/*therapeutic use

OBJECTIVE: Rapid and effective hemostasis at femoral puncture sites minimizes both the hospital stay and patient discomfort. Therefore, a variety of arterial closure devices have been developed to facilitate the closure of femoral arteriotomy. The objective of this prospective study was to compare the efficacy of two different closure devices; a collagen plug device (Angio-Seal) and a suture-mediated closure device (the Closer S). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 28, 2003 to August 31, 2004, we conducted a prospective study in which 1, 676 cases of 1, 180 patients were treated with two different types of closure device. Angio-Seal was used in 961 cases and the Closer S in 715 cases. The efficacy of the closure devices was assessed, as well as complications occurring at the puncture sites. RESULTS: Successful immediate hemostasis was achieved in 95.2% of the cases treated with Angio-Seal, and in 89.5% of the cases treated with the Closer S (p < 0.05). The rates of minor and major complications occurring between the two groups were not significantly different. In the Closer S group, we observed four major complications (0.6%), that consisted of one massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage (surgically explored) and three pseudoaneurysms. In the Angio-Seal group, we observed three major complications (0.3%) that consisted of one femoral artery occlusion, one case of infection treated with intravenous antibiotics and one pseudoaneurysm. CONCLUSION: The use of Angio-Seal was found to be more effective than that of the Closer S with regard to the immediate hemostasis of the femoral puncture sites. However, we detected no significant differences in the rate at which complications occurred.
Treatment Outcome ; *Sutures ; Prospective Studies ; Postoperative Complications ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Humans ; Hemostatic Techniques/*instrumentation ; Femoral Artery/*surgery ; Female ; *Collagen ; Aged ; Adult ; Adolescent

Identification of expressed protein profiles and antigenic determination are some of the most challenging aspects of proteomics. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with immunoblot analysis were employed to study the N. caninum proteome. Protein sample preparation was carried out by first conducting sonication, followed by adding lysis buffer containing 7M urea plus 2M thiourea to the purified tachyzoites in order to complete disruption. A total of 335 differentially expressed protein spots were detected using pH 4-7 IPG strip (7 cm) that were run in a 56 kVh isoelectric focusing (IEF) system. Of the spots analyzed, 64 were identified as antigenic spots on immunoblot profile. Major antigenic spots appeared at 65 kDa (pI 5.2-5.3), 51 kDa (pI 5.5), 38 kDa (pI 5.1), 33 kDa (pI 4.4), 29 kDa (pI 5.6) and 15.5 kDa (pI 5.0) were observed to be significantly distinct compared to the rest of the antigenic spots. The results indicate that combination of 2-DE and immunoblotting methods were thought as very useful tools in defining both proteins and antigens of N. caninum tachyzoites. Additionally, present 2-DE profiles may be valuable in further proteomic approaches and study of the pathogen.
Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Antigens, Protozoan/*analysis/isolation&purification ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional/methods ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Epitopes/analysis ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Immunoblotting/methods ; Isoelectric Focusing ; Neospora/*chemistry/immunology ; Proteome/analysis ; Proteomics ; Protozoan Proteins/*analysis/isolation&purification

Black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) is an important mariculture species in Korea. The production of this fish is drastically declined due to bacterial diseases, particularly streptococcosis caused by Lactococcus garvieae. The bacterial surface characteristics of SJ7 and TY6 were found to have capsule but not NB13 and YS18. The experiential evaluation of L. garvieae pathogenicity, the capsular isolates showed high cumulative mortality i.e. SJ7 (100%) and TY6 (60%) compared to non-capsular isolates. Based on this result the capsular isolates L. garvieae were highly suspected as the causative agent of streptococcosis in rockfish.
Agglutination Tests/veterinary ; Animals ; Bacterial Capsules ; DNA, Bacterial/genetics/isolation&purification ; Fish Diseases/*microbiology/mortality ; Fishes ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect/veterinary ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections/microbiology/mortality/*veterinary ; Lactococcus/*pathogenicity ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary

Protein identification by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of fight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) can analyze unambiguously identity of the spots from a 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) gel. This study developed a technique for 2-DE of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. enteritidis) by improving the dissolution conditions by 2-DE using a pH 4 - 7 immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strip. This report examines the protein components from the patterns of the S. enteritidis protein. The most abundant protein displayed a great number of clusters within the pH 4.5 - 7 range with a molecular mass ranging from 35-80 kDa. Some of these spots were identified as metabolic related enzymes. The protein fraction was also analyzed using an immobilized pH gradient strip. Different proteins were identified on the spot according to the elongation factors. In addition, this study showed that the 2-DE analysis of S. enteritidis provides useful information regarding the S. enteritidis proteome, and this approach might provide a strategy for identifying bacterial proteins using a proteome technology.
Bacterial Proteins/analysis/*chemistry/isolation & purification ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Enzymes/chemistry/genetics/isolation & purification ; Molecular Weight ; Salmonella enteritidis/*chemistry/growth & development ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization