Phenolate type siderophore was produced in Pseudomonas sp. PY002 (P. sp. PY002) which cultured in M9 minimal medium supplemented with 0 to 500 uM of dipyridyl. Pyochelin, a kind of siderophore, was detected as a single broad absorption band (280 nm) at pH 12.0, which is a characteristic of phenolate type siderophore. The 280 nm absorption spectrum of pyochelin was changed to 310 nm at pH 1.5. The pyochelin produced was a structurally unique phenolate siderophore, designated 2-[2-(o-hydroxyphenyl)-2-thiazolin-4-yl]-3-methyl-4-thiazolidine car- boxylic acid on the analysis of infrared radiation and 'H and ""C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Additionally, purified pyochelin increased the cell growth rate, like as growth fac- tor. All these results suggest that phenolate type siderophore play an important role in cell growth of P. sp. PY002.
Absorption ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Phenol* ; Pseudomonas* ; Spectrum Analysis

Cartilage ; Cicatrix ; Cleft Lip ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Eye ; Humans ; Lip ; Orientation ; Rhinoplasty ; Succinates

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of sacral insufficiency fracture in osteoporotic patients with compression fracture of the thoracolumbar (T-L) spine on magnetic resonance image (MRI), and to analyze the correlation of variable clinical factors and the incidence of sacral insufficiency fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 160 patients (27 men, 133 women; age range of 50 to 89 years) who underwent spinal MRI and had compression fracture of the T-L spine. Compression fractures due to trauma or tumor were excluded. We evaluated the incidence of sacral insufficiency fracture according to the patients' age, sex, number of compression fractures, and the existence of bone marrow edema pattern of compression fracture. During the same period, we evaluated the incidence of spinal compression fracture in the patients of pelvic insufficiency fracture. RESULTS: Out of the 160 patients who had compression fracture in the T-L spine, 17 (10.6%) had insufficiency fracture of the sacrum. Compression fracture occurred almost 5 times more frequently in women (27:133), but the incidence of sacral insufficiency fracture was 2/27 for men (7.4%) and 15/133 for women (11.3%), with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.80). According to age, the ratio of insufficiency fracture to compression fracture was 0% (0/23) in the 50's, 10.6% (7/66) in the 60's, 12.5% (7/56) in the 70's, and 20.0% (3/15) in the 80's. In respect of single and multiple compression fracture, the incidence of sacral insufficiency fracture was 8/65 for men (12.3%) and 9/95 for women (9.5%), showing no significant difference (p=0.37). In the patients with and without compression fracture with bone marrow edema, insufficiency fracture occurred in 5/76 (6.6%) and 12/84 (14.3%), respectively. On the other hand, of the 67 patients who had pelvic insufficiency fracture, 27 (40.3%) also had spinal compression fracture. CONCLUSION: About 10% of the patients with osteoporotic compression fracture in the T/L spine also had pelvic sacral insufficiency fracture, which was not uncommon. These findings suggest the need to consider the possibility of pelvic sacral insufficiency fracture in cases of T/L spinal MRI for patients with osteoporotic compression fracture.
Bone Marrow ; Edema ; Female ; Fractures, Compression* ; Fractures, Stress* ; Hand ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sacrum ; Spine*

PURPOSE: The present study assessed the diagnostic significance of digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) in determining the inflammatory state of patients with nonspecific orbital inflammation. METHODS: The present study included 11 patients diagnosed with nonspecific orbital inflammation between December 2009 and March 2011 and who were followed-up for more than 6 months. All patients were all diagnosed based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance image (MRI) and tissue biopsy. The grade of eyelid swelling was classified as 5 and severe compared with the temperature of location. The temperature of the upper eyelid, caruncle, medial conjunctiva, lateral conjunctiva, lower eyelid, cornea and lateral orbit were measured with DITI. RESULTS: When comparing the normal eye with the diseased eye in patients with nonspecific orbital inflammation, the temperature of the upper eyelid and cornea were statistically significant (p = 0.003, p = 0.038, respectively, Mann-Whitney test). The correlation between the grade of eyelid swelling and the temperature of location was most highly related in the temperature of the upper eyelid (Spearman's correlation coefficient, r = 0.55, p = 0.008) and cornea (Spearman's correlation coefficient, r = 0.45, p = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: DITI may aid in evaluating the inflammatory state of nonspecific orbital inflammation. In particular, the temperature of the upper eyelid and cornea can be very useful indicator. Future studies, including larger study population are necessary in order to confirm DITI as a diagnostic tool which can assess the results of medical treatment by comparing temperature before and after treatment.
Biopsy ; Conjunctiva ; Cornea ; Eye ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Orbit

Although commercialization of mobile phones has raised much concerns about the effects of radiofrequency radiation on the human body, few experimental studies have been conducted on the effects of radiofrequency radiation on physiological homeostasis, immune and inflammatory responses. Therefore, we presently investigated the effect of 835 MHz radiofrequency radiation on spontaneous wheel exercise, hormone and cytokines levels in the plasm of mice. Mice were divided into 4 groups as control, exercise, radiofrequency radiation, radiofrequency radiation & exercise group. The body weight, corticosterone and blood cytokine levels were checked for 10 weeks. Followed by the exposure to radiofrequency radiation for 6 hours a day, the more increase in body weight was observed in the radiofrequency radiation & exercise group than in the spontaneous exercise group. When the amount of spontaneous exercise was measured for 10 weeks, the amount of exercise was increased in the both control and spontaneous exercise group, while the amount of exercise was decreased in the radiofrequency radiation group. To determine whether the homeostasis, immune and inflammatory responses are indirectly affected by radiofrequency radiation exposure, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12 (p70), TNF-α, IFNγ, and GM-CSF were measured by ELISA kit, respectively. As a result, the blood levels of IL-6, IL-12 (p70) and TNF-α in the spontaneous exercise group were higher than that of control group, and each cytokine levels in the radiofrequency radiation & exercise group were lower than that of control group. However, the corticosterone, IL-1β, IFNγ and GM-CSF didn't show statistically significant differences in all groups. It has been confirmed that exposure to high frequency electromagnetic waves for a long time can affect the amount of exercise, body weight, and some inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-12 (p70) and TNF-α.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Cell Phones ; Corticosterone* ; Cytokines* ; Electromagnetic Radiation ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Homeostasis ; Human Body ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-6 ; Mice* ; Radiation Exposure

PURPOSE: We investigated the expression of the N-myc and STAT interactor (NMI) protein in invasive ductal carcinoma tissue and estimated its clinicopathologic significance as a prognostic factor. The expression levels and prognostic significance of NMI were also analyzed according to the molecular subgroup of breast cancers. METHODS: Human NMI detection by immunohistochemistry was performed using tissue microarrays of 382 invasive ductal carcinomas. The correlation of NMI expression with patient clinicopathological parameters and prognostic significance was analyzed and further assessed according to the molecular subgroup of breast cancers. Moreover, in vitro experiments with 13 breast cancer cell lines were carried out. We also validated NMI expression significance in The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort using the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database. RESULTS: Low NMI expression was observed in 190 cases (49.7%). Low NMI expression was significantly associated with the “triple-negative” molecular subtype (p < 0.001), high nuclear grade (p < 0.001), high histologic grade (p < 0.001), and advanced anatomic stage (p = 0.041). Patients with low NMI expression had poorer progression-free survival (p = 0.038) than patients with high NMI expression. Low NMI expression was not significantly associated with patient prognosis in the molecular subgroup analysis. In vitro, a reduction of NMI expression was observed in 8 breast cancer cell lines, especially in the estrogen receptor-positive and basal B type of triple-negative breast cancer molecular subgroups. The HPA database showed that low NMI expression levels were associated with a lower survival probability compared with that associated with high NMI expression (p = 0.053). CONCLUSION NMI expression could be a useful prognostic biomarker and a potential novel therapeutic target in invasive ductal carcinoma.

Well differentiated papillary mesothelioma (WDPM) is an unusual variant of epithelial mesothelioma. Most WDPMs exhibit either benign or indolent behavior. Making the differential diagnosis between this rare tumor and serous papillary carcinoma can be problematic. We report here on a case of a 43-year-old woman with a WDPM of the surface. She presented to our hospital for a routine gynecologic evaluation, and she had no specific symptoms or a history of asbestos exposure. Gynecologic ultrasonography revealed a right ovarian mass that measured 6 x 3.8 x 3 cm in size. No ascites was detected. Right salpingo-oophorectomy was performed; grossly, the tumor was a yellowish firm, multinodular mass. Microscopically, the tumor consisted of numerous papillae that were lined by a single layer of uniform mesothelial cells. Nuclear pleomorphism and mitoses were not found. On immunohistochemical study, the tumor cells were positive for calretinin and cytokeratin, but they were negative for CEA. It is important to differentiate WDPM from serous papillary carcinoma or other malignant tumors to avoid treating them as malignant tumors.
Adult ; Asbestos ; Ascites ; Calbindin 2 ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Keratins ; Mesothelioma* ; Mitosis ; Ovary ; Ultrasonography

Femoral Vein ; Freezing ; Heparin ; Microsurgery ; Rabbits ; Sutures ; Thrombosis ; Veins

BACKGROUND: Laboratory-based surveillance is an effective method' to detect nosocomial infections with limited personnel and time, and also can be used to identify clusters of organisms by unit and site. However it will fail to detect a significant number of infections because of cultures being negative or not submitted at all. This study was performed to determine the sensitivity of laboratory-based surveillance method in detecting nosocomial infections. METHODS: Four nursing units, two each of medical and surgical units, of Asan Medical Center were chosen and surveillance for nosocomial infections was performed with the total surveillance method for the 6-month period from July to December of 1995 by an infection control nurse. Proportion of the nosocomial infections that would have been detected by culture results alone was identified to determine the sensitivity of the laboratory-based surveillance method. RESULTS: A total of 164 cases of nosocomial infections were identified by the total surveillance method. Of these, 119 (72.6%) cases would have been detected by the laboratory-based surveillance method alone. Sensitivities were 100% in urinary tract infection and bacteremia, and 44.7%, 52.6% and 54.8% in lower respiratory tract, surgical site and other site infections, respectively. The 45 cases of infections that would have been undetected by microbiology data alone included 30 cases with culture negatives and 15 cases in which cultures were not submitted. CONCLUSIONS: The laboratory-based surveillance revealed different sensitivities depending on the sites of infections and patient services. The method is efficient with an acceptable level of sensitivities, but infection control teams should be aware of its shortcoming by a periodic monitoring of its sensitivity in the detection of nosocomial infections at their own hospitals.
Bacteremia ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Cross Infection* ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Nursing ; Respiratory System ; Urinary Tract Infections

BACKGROUND: Laboratory-based surveillance is an effective method' to detect nosocomial infections with limited personnel and time, and also can be used to identify clusters of organisms by unit and site. However it will fail to detect a significant number of infections because of cultures being negative or not submitted at all. This study was performed to determine the sensitivity of laboratory-based surveillance method in detecting nosocomial infections. METHODS: Four nursing units, two each of medical and surgical units, of Asan Medical Center were chosen and surveillance for nosocomial infections was performed with the total surveillance method for the 6-month period from July to December of 1995 by an infection control nurse. Proportion of the nosocomial infections that would have been detected by culture results alone was identified to determine the sensitivity of the laboratory-based surveillance method. RESULTS: A total of 164 cases of nosocomial infections were identified by the total surveillance method. Of these, 119 (72.6%) cases would have been detected by the laboratory-based surveillance method alone. Sensitivities were 100% in urinary tract infection and bacteremia, and 44.7%, 52.6% and 54.8% in lower respiratory tract, surgical site and other site infections, respectively. The 45 cases of infections that would have been undetected by microbiology data alone included 30 cases with culture negatives and 15 cases in which cultures were not submitted. CONCLUSIONS: The laboratory-based surveillance revealed different sensitivities depending on the sites of infections and patient services. The method is efficient with an acceptable level of sensitivities, but infection control teams should be aware of its shortcoming by a periodic monitoring of its sensitivity in the detection of nosocomial infections at their own hospitals.
Bacteremia ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Cross Infection* ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Nursing ; Respiratory System ; Urinary Tract Infections