Avian influenza (AIV) outbreaks can induce fatal human pulmonary infections in addition to economic losses to the poultry industry. In this study, we aimed to develop a rapid and sensitive point-of-care AIV test using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology. We designed three sets of reverse transcription LAMP (RT-LAMP) primers targeting the matrix (M) and hemagglutinin (HA) genes of the H5 and H9 subtypes. RT-LAMP targeting the universal M gene was designed to screen for the presence of AIV and RT-LAMP assays targeting H5-HA and H9-HA were designed to discriminate between the H5 and H9 subtypes. All three RT-LAMP assays showed specific amplification results without nonspecific reactions. In terms of sensitivity, the detection limits of our RT-LAMP assays were 100 to 1,000 RNA copies per reaction, which were 10 times more sensitive than the detection limits of the reference reverse‒transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (1,000 to 10,000 RNA copies per reaction). The reaction time of our RT-LAMP assays was less than 30 minutes, which was approximately four times quicker than that of conventional RT-PCR. Altogether, these assays successfully detected the existence of AIV and discriminated between the H5 or H9 subtypes with higher sensitivity and less time than the conventional RT-PCR assay.

Salmonella species are among the major pathogens that cause foodborne illness outbreaks. In this study, we aimed to develop a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid and sensitive detection of Salmonella species. We designed LAMP primers targeting the hilA gene as a universal marker of Salmonella species. A total of seven Salmonella species strains and 11 non-Salmonella pathogen strains from eight different genera were used in this study. All Salmonella strains showed positive amplification signals with the Salmonella LAMP assay; however, there was no non-specific amplification signal for the non-Salmonella strains. The detection limit was 100 femtograms (20 copies per reaction), which was ~1,000 times more sensitive than the detection limits of the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay (100 pg). The reaction time for a positive amplification signal was less than 20 minutes, which was less than one-third the time taken while using conventional PCR. In conclusion, our Salmonella LAMP assay accurately detected Salmonella species with a higher degree of sensitivity and greater rapidity than the conventional PCR assay, and it may be suitable for point-of-care testing in the field.

Avian influenza (AIV) outbreaks can induce fatal human pulmonary infections in addition to economic losses to the poultry industry. In this study, we aimed to develop a rapid and sensitive point-of-care AIV test using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology. We designed three sets of reverse transcription LAMP (RT-LAMP) primers targeting the matrix (M) and hemagglutinin (HA) genes of the H5 and H9 subtypes. RT-LAMP targeting the universal M gene was designed to screen for the presence of AIV and RT-LAMP assays targeting H5-HA and H9-HA were designed to discriminate between the H5 and H9 subtypes. All three RT-LAMP assays showed specific amplification results without nonspecific reactions. In terms of sensitivity, the detection limits of our RT-LAMP assays were 100 to 1,000 RNA copies per reaction, which were 10 times more sensitive than the detection limits of the reference reverse‒transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (1,000 to 10,000 RNA copies per reaction). The reaction time of our RT-LAMP assays was less than 30 minutes, which was approximately four times quicker than that of conventional RT-PCR. Altogether, these assays successfully detected the existence of AIV and discriminated between the H5 or H9 subtypes with higher sensitivity and less time than the conventional RT-PCR assay.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the current status of pediatric palliative care provision and how it is perceived by the palliative care experts. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted with 61 hospice institutions. From September through October 2017, a questionnaire was completed by experts from the participating institutions. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0. RESULTS: Among 61 institutions, palliative care is currently provided for pediatric cancer patients by 11 institutions (18.0%), all of which are concentrated in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and Gyengsang provinces; 85.2% of all do not plan to provide specialized pediatric palliative care in the future. According to the experts, the main barriers in providing pediatric palliative care were the insufficient number of trained specialists regardless of the delivery type. Experts said that it was appropriate to intervene when children were diagnosed with cancer that was less likely to be cured (33.7%) and to move to palliative care institutions when their conditions worsened (38.2%); and it was necessary to establish a specialized pediatric palliative care system, independent from the existing institutions for adult patients (73.8%). CONCLUSION: It is necessary to develop an education program to establish a nationwide pediatric palliative care centers. Pediatric palliative care intervention should be provided upon diagnosis rather than at the point of death. Patients should be transferred to palliative care institutions after intervention by their existing pediatric palliative care team at the hospital is started.
Adult ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hospices ; Humans ; Incheon ; Palliative Care ; Republic of Korea ; Seoul ; Specialization ; Terminal Care

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have caused severe respiratory disease and death in poultry and human beings. Although most of the avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are of low pathogenicity and cause mild infections in birds, some subtypes including hemagglutinin H5 and H7 subtype cause HPAI. Therefore, sensitive and accurate subtyping of AIV is important to prepare and prevent for the spread of HPAI. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can analyze the full-length sequence information of entire AIV genome at once, so this technology is becoming a more common in detecting AIVs and predicting subtypes. However, an analysis pipeline of NGS-based AIV sequencing data, including AIV subtyping, has not yet been established. Here, in order to support the pre-processing of NGS data and its interpretation, we developed a user-friendly tool, named prediction of avian influenza virus subtype (PAIVS). PAIVS has multiple functions that support the pre-processing of NGS data, reference-guided AIV subtyping, de novo assembly, variant calling and identifying the closest full-length sequences by BLAST, and provide the graphical summary to the end users.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have caused severe respiratory disease and death in poultry and human beings. Although most of the avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are of low pathogenicity and cause mild infections in birds, some subtypes including hemagglutinin H5 and H7 subtype cause HPAI. Therefore, sensitive and accurate subtyping of AIV is important to prepare and prevent for the spread of HPAI. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can analyze the full-length sequence information of entire AIV genome at once, so this technology is becoming a more common in detecting AIVs and predicting subtypes. However, an analysis pipeline of NGS-based AIV sequencing data, including AIV subtyping, has not yet been established. Here, in order to support the pre-processing of NGS data and its interpretation, we developed a user-friendly tool, named prediction of avian influenza virus subtype (PAIVS). PAIVS has multiple functions that support the pre-processing of NGS data, reference-guided AIV subtyping, de novo assembly, variant calling and identifying the closest full-length sequences by BLAST, and provide the graphical summary to the end users.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We evaluated whether stent-assisted thrombectomy (SAT) is safer or more clinically beneficial than aggressive mechanical clot disruption (AMCD) for patients with acute intracranial artery occlusion. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 72 patients (33 with SAT and 39 with AMCD) who underwent intra-arterial thrombolysis for acute intracranial artery occlusions. Procedure parameters, clinical outcomes, and incidence of complications were compared between the SAT and AMCD groups. RESULTS: The time interval to recanalization was shorter in SAT patients (69.2+/-39.6 minutes, mean+/-standard deviation) than in AMCD patients (94.4+/-48.0 minutes, p<0.05). Recanalization was achieved in more SAT patients (91%) than AMCD patients (80%), but with no statistically significance. Urokinase was used less frequently in SAT patients (21%) than in AMCD patients (92%, p<0.05), and the incidence of symptomatic hemorrhages was lower in SAT patients (3%) than in AMCD patients (18%, p<0.05). Device-related complications in SAT patients comprised two cases of stent fracture and one case of distal migration of a captured thrombus. The proportion of patients with good outcomes, defined as scores from 0 to 3 on the modified Rankin Scale, was similar in the two groups at discharge (SAT, 46%; AMCD, 39%), but significantly higher in the SAT group than in the AMCD group at 3 months (64% vs. 40%, p<0.05) and 6 months (67% vs. 42%, p<0.05) after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes and clinical parameters were better for SAT during thrombolytic procedures for acute intracranial artery occlusions than for AMCD for up to 6 months. However, some device-related complications occurred during stent interventions.
Arteries ; Cerebral Infarction ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mechanical Thrombolysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Stroke ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

Background: and Purpose: Dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, is a significant global health concern, with early diagnosis and treatment development being critical goals. While numerous cohorts have advanced dementia research, there is a lack of comprehensive data on ethnic differences, particularly for the Korean population. The Korea-Registries to Overcome Dementia and Accelerate Dementia Research (K-ROAD) aims to establish a large-scale, hospital-based dementia cohort to address this gap, with a focus on understanding disease progression, developing early diagnostics, and supporting treatment advancements specific to the Korean population. Methods: K-ROAD comprises multiple prospective cohorts. Participants underwent clinical evaluations, neuroimaging, and biomarker analysis, with data collected on a range of clinical and genomic markers. Results: As of December 2023, K-ROAD has recruited over 5,800 participants, including individuals across the Alzheimer’s clinical syndrome, subcortical vascular cognitive impairment, and frontotemporal dementia spectra. Preliminary findings highlight significant ethnic differences in amyloid positivity, cognitive decline, and biomarker profiles, compared to Western cohorts. Conclusions The K-ROAD cohort offers a unique and critical resource for dementia research, providing insights into ethnic-specific disease characteristics and biomarker profiles. These findings will contribute to the development of personalized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to dementia, enhancing global understanding of the disease.

Background: and Purpose: Dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, is a significant global health concern, with early diagnosis and treatment development being critical goals. While numerous cohorts have advanced dementia research, there is a lack of comprehensive data on ethnic differences, particularly for the Korean population. The Korea-Registries to Overcome Dementia and Accelerate Dementia Research (K-ROAD) aims to establish a large-scale, hospital-based dementia cohort to address this gap, with a focus on understanding disease progression, developing early diagnostics, and supporting treatment advancements specific to the Korean population. Methods: K-ROAD comprises multiple prospective cohorts. Participants underwent clinical evaluations, neuroimaging, and biomarker analysis, with data collected on a range of clinical and genomic markers. Results: As of December 2023, K-ROAD has recruited over 5,800 participants, including individuals across the Alzheimer’s clinical syndrome, subcortical vascular cognitive impairment, and frontotemporal dementia spectra. Preliminary findings highlight significant ethnic differences in amyloid positivity, cognitive decline, and biomarker profiles, compared to Western cohorts. Conclusions The K-ROAD cohort offers a unique and critical resource for dementia research, providing insights into ethnic-specific disease characteristics and biomarker profiles. These findings will contribute to the development of personalized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to dementia, enhancing global understanding of the disease.

Background: and Purpose: Dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, is a significant global health concern, with early diagnosis and treatment development being critical goals. While numerous cohorts have advanced dementia research, there is a lack of comprehensive data on ethnic differences, particularly for the Korean population. The Korea-Registries to Overcome Dementia and Accelerate Dementia Research (K-ROAD) aims to establish a large-scale, hospital-based dementia cohort to address this gap, with a focus on understanding disease progression, developing early diagnostics, and supporting treatment advancements specific to the Korean population. Methods: K-ROAD comprises multiple prospective cohorts. Participants underwent clinical evaluations, neuroimaging, and biomarker analysis, with data collected on a range of clinical and genomic markers. Results: As of December 2023, K-ROAD has recruited over 5,800 participants, including individuals across the Alzheimer’s clinical syndrome, subcortical vascular cognitive impairment, and frontotemporal dementia spectra. Preliminary findings highlight significant ethnic differences in amyloid positivity, cognitive decline, and biomarker profiles, compared to Western cohorts. Conclusions The K-ROAD cohort offers a unique and critical resource for dementia research, providing insights into ethnic-specific disease characteristics and biomarker profiles. These findings will contribute to the development of personalized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to dementia, enhancing global understanding of the disease.