The genus Hypoxylon is a member of the Xylariaceae which has brown to dark brown and pha- seoliform single cell ascospores with a conspicuous full germ slit. The isolates of Hypoxylon collected from England, Hong Kong and Korea are compared with similar taxa and described. These isolations under Hypoxylon section are detailed and illustrated, using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Hypoxylon howeianum and H. rubiginosum are described and compared with former collection from Korea. A key to the species is also included.
England ; Fungi* ; Hong Kong ; Korea ; Microscopy ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Wood*

The section of Annulata under genus Hypoxylon is a member of the Xylariaceae which has ascomata with ostioles papillate ill a flattened disc. The isolates of Hypoxylon collected from the Tropic to the Temperate are compared with similar taxa and described. These isolations under Annulata section are illustrated with a light microscopy and a scanning electron microscopy. Hypoxylon archeri is newly recorded from Korea. A key to the species is also included.
Fungi* ; Korea ; Microscopy ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Wood*

Disinfection ; Escherichia coli ; isolation & purification ; Hospitals ; Medical Waste ; Sewage ; Waste Products ; Water Microbiology

Many factors including social rejection, family problems, loss of educational opportunity, fear, prejudice and ignorance of leprosy compound the inherent psychologicaI stress of leprosy. In light of these problems we have undertaken a study to evaluate the psychological status of several selected groups of leprasy patients. We first studied 340 leprosy patients living in resettlement villages and 304 healthy people living in similar isolated areas. We used a self report symptom inventory, SCL-90 (symptom check list-90), and compared the two-groups. (countinued..)
Humans ; Leprosy* ; Prejudice ; Self Report ; Social Distance

Purpose: The imaging characteristics of two popular kV cone-beam CT (CBCT) and two MVCT systems utilised in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) were evaluated. Materials and methods: The study was performed on Varian Clinac iX, Elekta Synergy S, Siemens Oncor, and Tomotherapy. A CT phantom (Catphan-504, Phantom Laboratory, Salem, NY) was scanned for measurements of image quality including image noise, uniformity, density accuracy, spatial resolution, contrast linearity, and contrast resolution. The measurement results were analysed using in-house image analysis software. Reproducibility, position correction, and geometric accuracy were also evaluated with markers in a smaller alignment phantom. The performance evaluation compared volumetric image properties from these four systems with those from a conventional diagnostic CT (CCT). Results: It was shown that the linearity of the two kV CBCT was fairly consistent with CCT. The Elekta CBCT with half-circle 27-cm FOV had higher CT numbers than the other three systems. The image noises of the Elekta kV CBCT, Siemens MV CBCT, and Tomotherapy fan-beam CT (FBCT) are about 2-4 times higher than that of the Varian CBCT. The spatial resolutions of two kV CBCTs and two MV CBCTs were 8-11 lp/cm and 3-5 lp/cm, respectively. Conclusion: Elekta CBCT provided a faster image reconstruction and low dose per scan for half-circle scanning. Varian CBCT had relatively lower image noise. Tomotherapy FBCT had the best uniformity.

Butanedioic acid was isolated from the ethyl alcohol extract of Hedysarum polybotrys. The methylated carboxylic acid was identified by GC-MS method.
Carboxylic Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Succinates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

A 15-day-old boy was admitted to the hospital due to repeated convulsions for 14 days. The main clinical manifestations were uncontrolled seizures, hypoergia, feeding difficulties, limb hypotonia, and bilateral hearing impairment. Clinical neurophysiology showed reduced brainstem auditory evoked potential on both sides and burst-suppression pattern on electroencephalogram. Measurement of very-long-chain fatty acids in serum showed that C26:0 was significantly increased. Genetic testing showed a pathogenic compound heterozygous mutation, c.101C>T(p.Ala34Val) and c.1448_1460del(p.Ala483Aspfs*37), in the
Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Mutation ; Peroxisomal Multifunctional Protein-2/genetics* ; Protein Deficiency/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast has been considered a relative rare form of breast cancer because its diagnosis was difficult but the widespread use of screening mammography has made it easy to detect breast disease and there has been a marked increase in the incidence of DCIS. But the exact diagnosis and treatment are controversial. METHOD: We reviewed the clinical record of 55 patients with DCIS treated at the Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, between September 1994 and December 1997. If there was microinvasion noted, it was excluded from this study. RESULTS: The incidence of DCIS was 11.5% of all breast cancer (55 out of 477) with increasing tendency from 1995 to 1997. DCIS was most prevalent in woman who were in their fifth decades and the mean age was 47 years old. Chief complaints were palpable breast masses in 22 (40%), mammorgaphic abnormalities in 21 (38%), abnormal nipple discharge in 7 (13%), and others in 5 cases (9%). The most common mammographic finding was microcalcifications in 41(84%), but the mass density and architectural distortion were also noted in small percentage. Diagnostic methods for preperative pathology were fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytoloty in 15 (27%), localization and excisional biopsy in 16 (29.1%), excisional biopsy in 11 (20%), incisional biopsy in 5 (9%), stereotactic core biopsy in 3 (5.5%), US guided biopsy in 2 (3.6%) and ABBI (advanced breast biopsy instrumentation) biopsy in 3 (5.5%). If the chief complant was palpable masses, FNA was a diagnostic choice. On the other hand, if the problem was mammographic abnormalities, localization and excisional biopsy was preferred. The surgical procedures were modified radical mastectomy in 17 (31%), total mastectomy in 21 (38%) lumpectomy with axillary lymph node dissection in 7 (13%) and lumpectomy only in 10 (18%). If preoperative histology revealed the tumor of comedo type, mastectomy was preferred but in case of non-comedo type, conservative surgery was preferred. Conservative surgery was followed by radiation therapy. Cancers were subclassified according to their histologic subtypes in 51 cases and comedo was the most common type (42%). Prevalent size of the masses were less than 2 cm and the biggest one was 9 cm. There were one case (2%) of lymph node metastasis. It was comedo type and the size of cancer was 9 cm. CONCLUSION: The widespread use of screening mammography and variable diagnostic method will increase the chance to detect the incidence of DCIS and conservative surgery will be performed more frequently in selected group of patients.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Breast Diseases ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* ; Diagnosis* ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Mammography ; Mass Screening ; Mastectomy ; Mastectomy, Modified Radical ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Mastectomy, Simple ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nipples ; Pathology

BACKGROUNDThe release of Weibel-Palade Bodies (WPB) is a form of endothelial cell activation. But the signal transduction pathway leading to WPB release is not yet defined. We hypothesized that small G-protein rac1 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the ligand induced release of Weibel-Palade Bodies.

METHODSWe tested this hypothesis by using wild-type and mutant adenoviral rac1 expression vectors, and by manipulating the production and destruction of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide in human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC).

RESULTSThrombin (1.0 Unit, 30 min) induced the increase of WPB release by 3.7-fold in HAEC, and that H2O2 (0.1 mmol/L, 30 min) induced by 4.5-fold. These results correlated with thrombin-stimulated activation of rac-GTP binding activity by 3.5-fold, and increase of ROS production by 3.4-fold. The dominant negative adenoviral rac-N17 gene transfer dramatically inhibited the release of WPB by 64.2% (control) and 77.3% (thrombin-stimulation), and decreased ROS production by 65.5% (control) and 83.6% (thrombin-stimulation) compared with non-infected cells, respectively. Anti-oxidants, catalase and N-acetyl-cysteine significantly decreased the release of WPB by 34% and 79% in control cells, and further decreased by 63.6% and 46.7% in rac-N17 transferred cells compared with non-infected cells. We also confirmed that rac1 was located upstream of ROS in the WPB release pathway.

CONCLUSIONSSmall G-protein rac1 medicates ligand-induced release of Weibel-Palade Bodies in human aortic endothelial cells, and the signal pathway of WPB release is a rac1-dependent ROS regulating mechanism.

Aorta ; ultrastructure ; Endothelial Cells ; ultrastructure ; Humans ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Signal Transduction ; Thrombin ; pharmacology ; Weibel-Palade Bodies ; physiology ; rac1 GTP-Binding Protein ; physiology

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of super-antigen (SAg) of group A Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS), isolated from patients with scarlet fever or pharyngeal infections in Beijing between 2015-2017. Methods: Throat swab specimens from patients with scarlet fever or pharyngeal infections were collected and tested for GAS. Eleven currently known SAg genes including SpeA, speC, speG, speH, speI, speJ, speK, speL, speM, smeZ and ssa were tested by real-time PCR while M protein genes (emm genes) were amplified and sequenced by PCR. Results: A total of 377 GAS were isolated from 6 801 throat swab specimens, with the positive rate as 5.5%. There were obvious changes noticed among speC, speG, speH and speK in three years. A total of 45 SAg genes profiles were observed, according to the SAgs inclusion. There were significant differences appeared in the frequencies among two of the highest SAg genes profiles between emm1 and emm12 strains (χ(2)=38.196, P<0.001; χ(2)=72.310, P<0.001). There also appeared significant differences in the frequencies of speA, speH, speI and speJ between emm1 and emm12 strains (χ(2)=146.154, P<0.001; χ(2)=52.31, P<0.001; χ(2)=58.43, P<0.001; χ(2)=144.70, P<0.001). Conclusions: Obvious changes were noticed among SAg genes including speC, speG, speH and speK from patients with scarlet fever or pharyngeal infections in Beijing between 2015-2017. SAg genes including speA, speH, speI and speJ appeared to be associated with the emm 1 and emm 12 strains. More kinds of SAg genes profiles were isolated form GAS but with no significant differences seen in the main SAg genes profiles, during the epidemic period.
Antigens, Bacterial/genetics* ; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins ; Bacterial Proteins ; Beijing/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Exotoxins ; Female ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; Pharyngitis/microbiology* ; Pharynx/microbiology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/microbiology* ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Scarlet Fever/microbiology* ; Streptococcal Infections ; Streptococcus pyogenes/isolation & purification* ; Superantigens/genetics*