No abstract available.
Cholera* ; Enterotoxins* ; Korea* ; Vibrio cholerae* ; Vibrio*

Dopaminergic projection to the hippocampus from the ventral tegmental area or locus ceruleus has been considered to play an essential role in the acquisition of novel information. Hence, the dopaminergic modulation of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus has been widely studied. We examined how the D1 and D2 receptors influenced the mGluR5-mediated synaptic plasticity of the temporoammonic-CA1 synapses and showed that the dopaminergic modulation of the temporoammonic-CA1 synapses was expressed in various ways. Our findings suggest that the dopaminergic system in the hippocampal CA1 region regulates the long-term synaptic plasticity and processing of the novel information.

The quality assurance (QA) is of utmost importance in biobanks when archived biomaterials are distributed to biomedical researchers. For sample authentication and cross-contamination detection, the two fundamental elements of QA, STR genotyping is usually utilized. However, the incorporated number of STR markers is highly redundant for biobanking purposes, resulting in time and cost inefficiency. An index to measure the cross-contamination detection capability of an STR marker, the mixture probability (MP), was developed. MP as well as other forensic parameters for STR markers was validated using STR genotyping data on 2328 normal Koreans with the commercial AmpFlSTR kit. For Koreans, 7 STR marker (D2S1338, FGA, D18S51, D8S1179, D13S317, D21S11, vWA) set was sufficient to provide discrimination power of ~10(-10) and cross-contamination detection probability of ~1. Interestingly, similar marker sets were obtained from African Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Hispanic Americans under the same level of discrimination power. Only a small subset of commonly used STR markers is sufficient for QA purposes in biobanks. A procedure for selecting optimal STR markers is outlined using STR genotyping results from normal Korean population.
African Americans ; Biocompatible Materials ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Hispanic Americans ; Humans ; Microsatellite Repeats

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes varies geographically. In Korea, genotypes 1 and 2 comprise more than 90% of HCV infections, while genotype 6 is very rare. This study compared the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with genotype 6 HCV infection with those infected with HCV genotypes 1 and 2. METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter HCV cohort study that enrolled 1,173 adult patients, of which 930 underwent HCV genotype analysis, and only 9 (1.0%) were found to be infected with genotype 6 HCV. The clinical and epidemiological parameters of the genotypes were compared. RESULTS: The patients with genotype 6 HCV had a mean age of 41.5 years, 77.8% were male, and they had no distinct laboratory features. A sustained virologic response (SVR) was observed in four (67%) of six patients who received antiviral therapy. Risk factors such as the presence of a tattoo (n=6, 66.7%), more than three sexual partners (n=3, 33.3%), and injection drug use (n=3, 33.3%) were more common among genotype 6 patients than among genotypes 1 or 2. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology and treatment response of patients infected with genotype 6 HCV differed significantly from those with genotypes 1 or 2, warranting continuous monitoring.
Adult ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus/*genetics ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/*diagnosis/drug therapy/epidemiology ; Humans ; Liver/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; RNA, Viral/blood ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Sexual Behavior ; Substance-Related Disorders/complications ; Tattooing