Fusion proteins resulting from chimeric sequences are excellent targets for therapeutic drug development. We developed a database of chimeric sequences by examining the genomic alignment of mRNA and EST sequences in the GenBank. We identified 688 chimeric mRNA and 20,998 chimeric EST sequences. Including EST sequences greatly expands the scope of chimeric sequences even though it inevitably accompanies many artifacts. Chimeric sequences are clustered according to the ECgene ID so that the user can easily find chimeric sequences related to a specific gene. Alignments of chimeric sequences are displayed as custom tracks in the UCSC genome browser. ChimerDB, available at http://genome.ewha.ac.kr/ECgene/ChimerDB/, should be a valuable resource for finding drug targets to treat cancers.
Artifacts ; Databases, Nucleic Acid* ; Genome ; RNA, Messenger ; Trans-Splicing ; Translocation, Genetic

No abstract available.
Nausea* ; Ondansetron* ; Vomiting*

Developed proteome-scale ortholog and paralog prediction methods are mainly based on sequence similarity. However, it is known that even the closest BLAST hit often does not mean the closest neighbor. For this reason, we added conserved interaction information to find orthologs. We propose a genome-scale, automated ortholog prediction method, named OrthoInterBlast. The method is based on both sequence and interaction similarity. When we applied this method to fly and yeast, 17% of the ortholog candidates were different compared with the results of Inparanoid. By adding protein-protein interaction information, proteins that have low sequence similarity still can be selected as orthologs, which can not be easily detected by sequence homology alone.
Diptera ; Proteins ; Sequence Homology ; Yeasts

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the adequacies of lymph node (LN) dissection according to the second version (determined by tumor location) or third/fourth version (determined by surgery extent) of the Japanese gastric cancer treatment guidelines.METHODS: Prospectively collected data of 3,948 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy were analyzed. The prevalence of LN metastasis and 5-year survival were analyzed according to tumor invasion depth and tumor location. In early gastric cancer (EGC), the frequency of LNs were evaluated. In advanced gastric cancer (AGC), the frequency of LN metastasis and the 5-year survival rate of patients with positive LN were evaluated.RESULTS: For lower-third EGC, the positive rates for the #1 and #4sb were 0.93% and 0%. For upper-third EGC, the positive rates for #4d, #5, #6, and #11p were 0.3%, 0%, 0.76%, and 1.22%. For lower-third AGC, the positive rates for #4sb and #14v were 2.48% and 7.64%, and the 5-year survival rates were 69.2% and 12.5%, respectively. For upper-third AGC, the positive rates for #5, #6, and #12a were 2.33%, 2.57%, and 2.03%, and the 5-year survival rates were 21.8%, 64.3%, and 0%, respectively.CONCLUSION: According to our analysis, in EGC, LN dissection in second edition seems more suitable, however LN dissection in #11p would be mandatory in upper third EGC. In AGC, LN dissection in third/fourth edition seems more suitable in terms of frequency of LN metastasis and survival rate.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: We determine the Korean antibody titer and positive rate of tetanus by using a with qualitative test (ELISA) and a quantitative test (TQS(R)). METHODS: This study was prospective collecting study with uncontolled patients who were admitted in 21 Emergency Departments during 3 months in South Korea. We measured TQS(R) and collected the serum with a centrifuge for 5 groups, which was classified with age: 2~10 years (I), 11~20 years (II), 21~30 years (III), 31~40 years (IV), 41~60 years (V), in each hospital. The freezed serum and the protocol with TQS(R) results were taken at the Soonchunhyang University Bucheon hospital to be analyzed. RESULTS: The number of enrolled patients was 1816 (male 58%). The positive rate of TQS(R) was 835 patients (46%), and there was no relation with region or sex. In sex and age, there was a definitive decline in the group III fort males and females. The results of ELISA was showed that 62.8% (> 0.15 IU/ml) and 52.2% (> 0.2 IU/ml) had protective levels of tetanus antibody. The proportion decreased to approximately 43% and 18% among persons 40~60 years of age at each level of antibody titers. By region and population, there was no statistical relationship with TQS(R) and ELISA, but previous military service was associated with a higher prevalence of protective antibodies to tetanus (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial portion of adults in South Korea do not have antibody levels that are protective against tetanus. Also, the mean level of tetanus antibody titers was definitively lower than those of other developed conturies and consistently decreased with aging. Therefore, an adult formulation diphteria and tetanus toxoid every 5 or 10 years is recommended for all adults between 20 and 60 years of age after being tested with TQS(R) in South Korea.
Adult ; Aging ; Antibodies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Tetanus ; Tetanus Toxoid

Tricuspid regurgitation after blunt chest trauma is rarely seen in the emergency department. A 19-year-old patient visited our emergency department with chest discomfort after collision with his brother while skiing. Recently, Skiing as a winter sports has become popular with the Korean people, so there is an increasing tendency for patients with diverse traumas associated with ski accidents to visit the emergency department. From simple abrasions or contusions to deadly injuries with unstable vital signs, we are seeing many kind of injuries in the emergency department. We present the case report of a patient with tricuspid regurgitation after a blunt chest trauma during the skiing.
Contusions ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Siblings ; Skiing ; Sports ; Thorax* ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency* ; Vital Signs ; Young Adult

Tricuspid regurgitation after blunt chest trauma is rarely seen in the emergency department. A 19-year-old patient visited our emergency department with chest discomfort after collision with his brother while skiing. Recently, Skiing as a winter sports has become popular with the Korean people, so there is an increasing tendency for patients with diverse traumas associated with ski accidents to visit the emergency department. From simple abrasions or contusions to deadly injuries with unstable vital signs, we are seeing many kind of injuries in the emergency department. We present the case report of a patient with tricuspid regurgitation after a blunt chest trauma during the skiing.
Contusions ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Siblings ; Skiing ; Sports ; Thorax* ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency* ; Vital Signs ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Quantification of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is an emerging serologic test and may be useful for identifying treatment strategies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This study aimed to evaluate HBsAg titers during the natural course of CHB and identify correlations between HBsAg titers and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA concentrations across different CHB phases measured using an immunoradiometric assay (IRMA). METHODS: CHB phases were defined on the basis of HBV DNA concentrations, the presence of hepatitis B e antigen/antibody (HBeAg/Ab) and serum alanine aminotransferase levels. Serum HBsAg titers and paired HBV DNA concentrations in the different phases of CHB were compared using 627 serum samples. RESULTS: Mean HBsAg titers were significantly higher in the immunotolerant (IT) phase and immunoreactive (IR) HBeAg-positive phase than in the low-replicative (LR) and HBeAg-negative CHB (ENH) states. The correlation between HBsAg titers and HBV DNA concentrations was modest in the IT (n=36, r=0.804, p<0.001) and IR (n=48, r=0.773, p<0.001) phases, and it was poor in the LR state (n=116, r=0.289, p=0.002); however, no significant correlation was observed in the ENH state (n=67, r=0.146, p=0.237) or in the oral nucleos(t)ide analogue-treated group (n=267). CONCLUSIONS: HBsAg quantification using IRMA might be useful for discriminating different CHB phases and different stages of chronic liver disease.
Adult ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Biomarkers/blood ; DNA, Viral/*blood ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/*blood ; Hepatitis B e Antigens/blood ; Hepatitis B virus/*genetics/immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*immunology ; Humans ; *Immunoradiometric Assay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Seoul ; Viral Load ; Virus Replication

BACKGROUND: The objects of this study is to compare the clinical aspects and characteristics of the sternal fracture between non-old aged and the old aged. METHODS: This study is based on 105 patients who were diagnosed as a sternal fracture at the emergency center of Chunchon Sacred Heart Hospital from January of 2001 to June of 2007. RESULTS: The overall clinical presentations of sternal fracture of the old aged are similar to that of non-old aged. There were some differences in the patterns of spinal fracture occurred with sternal fracture between non-old aged and the old aged. In non-old aged group, there were 7 patients(8.6%), who had the facture of spine along with sternal fracture, and there were 4 male and 3 females. In the old aged group, there were 4 male and 4 female patients out of 8 patients. There were 2 female patients who had both thoracic and lumbar spinal fractures in the old aged group. CONCLUSION: There were many cases of injury which were accompanied with the sternal fracture. When the two groups are compared, the spinal facture were more often in the old aged group. Especially, the fracture of lumbar spine occurred more frequent in the old aged group.
Emergencies ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Heart ; Humans ; Male ; Spinal Fractures ; Spine ; Sternum

Purpose: The impact of the interval between previous endoscopy and diagnosis on the treatment modality or mortality of undifferentiated (UD)-type gastric cancer is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of endoscopic screening interval on the stage, cancerrelated mortality, and treatment methods of UD-type gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of newly diagnosed patients with UD gastric cancer in 2013, in whom the interval between previous endoscopy and diagnosis could be determined. The patients were classified into different groups according to the period from the previous endoscopy to diagnosis (<12 months, 12–23 months, 24–35 months, ≥36 months, and no history of endoscopy), and the outcomes were compared between the groups. In addition, patients who underwent endoscopic and surgical treatment were reclassified based on the final treatment results. Results: The number of enrolled patients was 440, with males representing 64.1% of the study population; 11.8% of the participants reported that they had undergone endoscopy for the first time in their cancer diagnosis. The percentage of stage I cancer at diagnosis significantly decreased as the interval from the previous endoscopy to diagnosis increased (65.4%, 63.2%, 64.2%, 45.9%, and 35.2% for intervals of <12 months, 12–23 months, 24–35 months, ≥36 months, and no previous endoscopy, respectively, P<0.01). Cancer-related mortality was significantly lower for a 3-year interval of endoscopy (P<0.001). Conclusions A 3-year interval of endoscopic screening reduces gastric-cancer-related mortality, particularly in cases of UD histology.