BACKGROUND: The role of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) is to promote the degradation of mitotic cyclins and other substrates involved in sister chromatid adhesions. The APC appears to be responsible for the degradation of cyclin B and may have a potential role in the loss of control concerning cell proliferation in mammalian cells. However, a direct link between the defects in the APC components and oncogenesis has not been estabilished. This study investigates the relationship between APC expression and variable prognostic factors in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. METHODS: We evaluated 108 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma surgically resected from January, 1996 to May, 2000 at Wonju Christian Hospital, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University. Immunohistochemical stains for APC, estrogen receptor, and Ki-67 were done in paraffin sections using the avidin-biotin complex method. The results were compared with clinical and pathologic parameters and flow cytometric DNA analysis factors. RESULTS: Forty cases (37.0%) showed immunopositive reactions for APC. The APC positivity in histologic grades 1, 2, and 3 were 28 cases (84.4%), 33 cases (60.0%), and 7 cases (35.0%), respectively (p=0.0011). The APC expressions in cases with the number of mitosis of less than 10, 10-19, and more than 20 per 10 high power fields, were noted in 37 cases (75.5%), 26 cases (63.4%), and 5 cases (27.8%), respectively (p=0.0016). The mean value of the Ki-67 labeling index was 221.7 in the APC-positive group and 317.9 in the APC-negative group (p= 0.0091). DNA flow cytometric analysis revealed higher APC expressions in cases with diploid patterns (p=0.0095). The APC expression rate increased significantly with decreasing histologic grade, with decreasing mitotic activity, in cases with a low Ki-67 labeling index, and those in the diploid group (p<0.05). The APC expression was not statistically correlated with clinical stage, tumor size, and estrogen receptor status. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that positive APC expression may be considered as a good prognostic factor of invasive ductal carcinoma, and loss of APC expression may be related with the progression of breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromatids ; Coloring Agents ; Cyclin B ; Cyclins ; Diploidy ; DNA ; Estrogens ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Mitosis ; Paraffin ; Siblings

BACKGROUND: The anaphase promoting complex (APC) promotes the degradation of mitotic cyclins as well as other substrates involved in sister chromatid adhesion. This study was carried out to examine the relationship between the APC expression and the clinicopathological variables, in an attempt to determine the role of the APC in the proliferation of lung cancer and to evaluate the possibility of an aberrant APC function in surgically resected squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the lung. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining was performed for APC, Ki-67, cyclin B1, Cdc2, MMP-2 and VEGF in 55 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 34 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung, using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase method. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical stains for APC revealed a positive reaction in 49 cases (55.1%). The APC expression level was higher in the cyclin B1-positive group (p= 0.01), the Cdc2-positive group (p=0.001), the MMP-2-positive group (p=0.03), the group with lymph node metastasis (61.4% vs 48.9%), and the group with stage II/III cancer (60.7%) compared with those with stage I (42.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The APC may have an aberrant function, such as a change in its role in controlling the cell cycle, and might be associated with the invasiveness and proliferation of tumor cells.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Anaphase* ; Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cell Cycle ; Chromatids ; Coloring Agents ; Cyclin B1 ; Cyclins ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Siblings ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

A new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota), Acaulospora koreana, was isolated from forest soils in South Korea. This novel fungus was collected from the rhizosphere of Lindera obtusiloba and Styrax obassia in forest and propagated with Sorghum bicolor in pot. Morphological characteristics of spores of A. koreana are rarely distinguished from Acaulospora mellea, which is reported as one of the most abundant mycorrhizal species in Korea. However, molecular evidence of rDNA sequence using improved primers for glomeromycotan fungal identification strongly supported that A. koreana is different from A. mellea but also any other species belonging to the genus Acaulospora. This is the first novel glomeromycatan fungus introduced in South Korea, but it suggests that there is a high possibility for discovering new arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi considering the abundance of plant species and advanced phylogenetic analysis technique.
DNA, Ribosomal ; Forests ; Fungi* ; Glomeromycota ; Korea* ; Lindera ; Plants ; Rhizosphere ; Soil ; Sorghum ; Spores ; Styrax

We investigated the effects on various crops of inoculation with species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in soils from different sources and selected AMF species suitable for domestic environment-friendly farming. Effects on plants varied with the AMF species used. In carrot, Scutellospora heterogama, Acaulospora longula, and Funneliformis mosseae had a positive effect on growth of the host, whereas AMF had only weak effects on the growth of red pepper and leek. AMF inoculation had positive effects on the growth of carrot and sorghum. The results of this study indicate the nature of the relationship between soil, plants, and AMF; this study therefore has important implications for the future use of AMF in environment-friendly agriculture.
Agriculture ; Capsicum ; Daucus carota ; Fungi* ; Onions ; Organic Agriculture ; Plants* ; Soil* ; Sorghum

Intermediate pilomyxoid tumors (IPTs) were defined by the presence of some features typical of pilomyxoid astrocytoma (PMA) in combination with features that could be considered more consistent with pilocytic astrocytoma (PA). PMA is rare in the cerebellum. And, IPT in the cerebellum is rarer than PMA. To our knowledge, only 2 reports have described IPT in the cerebellum. A 5-year-old boy had nausea and vomiting. Computed tomography revealed a large, round, low-density tumor in the cerebellar vermis area. On enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the tumor showed inhomogeneous diffuse enhancement; the central portion showed homogenous enhancement, while the peripheral portion showed inhomogeneous enhancement. The patient underwent a midline suboccipital craniotomy, and gross total resection was performed. The tumor was gray-colored, rubbery hard, and severely hemorrhagic with a clear boundary. On pathologic examination, the combined features of both PA and PMA were retrospectively indicative of an IPT. The patient was symptom-free for 18 months, with no evidence of tumor recurrence on MRI. More observation and further studies on PMA and IPT are required to determine the most appropriate treatment for these tumors.
Astrocytoma* ; Cerebellar Vermis ; Cerebellum* ; Child, Preschool* ; Craniotomy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male* ; Nausea ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the quantity and quality of research output of selected Asian countries in the field of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the last 10 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Top 15 Asian countries were selected according to their gross domestic product. The Science Citation Index Expanded database was used to search for the literature published between 2004 and 2013 using "Total Knee Arthroplasty". The numbers of articles, journals and citations and the contribution of each country were analyzed. The articles were classified according to the type of study and the relative proportion of each type was analyzed. RESULTS: Asian surgeons have increasingly contributed to orthopedic literature on TKA for the past 10 years, but the dominant contribution came from only a few countries. The total number of articles published by Asian countries increased by 261%, with Japan producing most of the studies and China showing the maximum growth rate. The majority of studies were published in low impact factor journals. Korea published the highest proportion of articles in high impact factor journals. Clinical papers were most frequent. CONCLUSIONS: Our identification of research productivity pertaining to TKA among Asian countries gives a unique insight into the level of academic research in the field of TKA in these countries. There is a need to improve the quality of research to enhance the publishing power in high impact journals as well as the need for more basic research and epidemiological studies considering the unique differences among Asian patients undergoing TKA.
Arthroplasty ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bibliometrics ; China ; Efficiency ; Gross Domestic Product ; Humans ; Japan ; Knee ; Korea ; Orthopedics

Intramammary Paget’s disease is an uncommon disease in which 90% of the cases are accompanied by invasive or noninvasive ductal carcinoma. It comprises approximately 0.7%-4.3% of all breast cancers. Typically, extramammary Paget’s disease is accompanied by dermal invasion; however, in intramammary Paget’s disease, dermal invasion through the basement membrane of the skin is very rare. Intramammary Paget’s disease with dermal invasion has been reported infrequently worldwide, and its management and prognosis remain unknown. We report a case of intramammary Paget’s disease with dermal invasion in a 64-year-old woman, accompanied by review of the literature.

This study compares biomarker levels among environmentally vulnerable residents in Korea, the general Korean population, and Asians in the United States. We selected 953 exposed residents and 204 controls from the Forensic Research via Omics Markers in Environmental Health Vulnerable Areas (FROM) study (2021-2023), 4,239 participants from the fourth Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020), and 996 Asians from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-March 2020). The analyzed biomarkers included blood and urinary metals, urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nicotine, volatile organic compounds, and serum perfluorocarbon metabolites. The highest median biomarker levels varied by pollution source among older adults. In refineries, blood lead and cadmium (Cd), as well as urinary Cd and 2-hydroxyfluorene, were highest. Abandoned metal mines exhibited the highest blood and urinary mercury, urinary Cd, total arsenic (As), 2-naphthol, and cotinine levels. Coal-fired power plants showed the highest urinary 1- hydroxyphenanthrene levels, while cement factories had the highest urinary As3+ levels. Sprawls demonstrated the highest urinary monomethylarsonic acid, 1-hydroxypyrene, and phenylglyoxylic acid levels, and industrial areas recorded the highest levels of trans, trans-muconic acid, benzylmercapturic acid, and 2-methylhippuric acid. In general, biomarker levels were higher among exposed residents in the FROM study than in the general population; however, urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene and As5+ levels did not differ significantly. Exposure to pollution sources in environmentally vulnerable areas may elevate biomarker levels in residents.

This study compares biomarker levels among environmentally vulnerable residents in Korea, the general Korean population, and Asians in the United States. We selected 953 exposed residents and 204 controls from the Forensic Research via Omics Markers in Environmental Health Vulnerable Areas (FROM) study (2021-2023), 4,239 participants from the fourth Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020), and 996 Asians from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-March 2020). The analyzed biomarkers included blood and urinary metals, urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nicotine, volatile organic compounds, and serum perfluorocarbon metabolites. The highest median biomarker levels varied by pollution source among older adults. In refineries, blood lead and cadmium (Cd), as well as urinary Cd and 2-hydroxyfluorene, were highest. Abandoned metal mines exhibited the highest blood and urinary mercury, urinary Cd, total arsenic (As), 2-naphthol, and cotinine levels. Coal-fired power plants showed the highest urinary 1- hydroxyphenanthrene levels, while cement factories had the highest urinary As3+ levels. Sprawls demonstrated the highest urinary monomethylarsonic acid, 1-hydroxypyrene, and phenylglyoxylic acid levels, and industrial areas recorded the highest levels of trans, trans-muconic acid, benzylmercapturic acid, and 2-methylhippuric acid. In general, biomarker levels were higher among exposed residents in the FROM study than in the general population; however, urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene and As5+ levels did not differ significantly. Exposure to pollution sources in environmentally vulnerable areas may elevate biomarker levels in residents.

This study compares biomarker levels among environmentally vulnerable residents in Korea, the general Korean population, and Asians in the United States. We selected 953 exposed residents and 204 controls from the Forensic Research via Omics Markers in Environmental Health Vulnerable Areas (FROM) study (2021-2023), 4,239 participants from the fourth Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2018-2020), and 996 Asians from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-March 2020). The analyzed biomarkers included blood and urinary metals, urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nicotine, volatile organic compounds, and serum perfluorocarbon metabolites. The highest median biomarker levels varied by pollution source among older adults. In refineries, blood lead and cadmium (Cd), as well as urinary Cd and 2-hydroxyfluorene, were highest. Abandoned metal mines exhibited the highest blood and urinary mercury, urinary Cd, total arsenic (As), 2-naphthol, and cotinine levels. Coal-fired power plants showed the highest urinary 1- hydroxyphenanthrene levels, while cement factories had the highest urinary As3+ levels. Sprawls demonstrated the highest urinary monomethylarsonic acid, 1-hydroxypyrene, and phenylglyoxylic acid levels, and industrial areas recorded the highest levels of trans, trans-muconic acid, benzylmercapturic acid, and 2-methylhippuric acid. In general, biomarker levels were higher among exposed residents in the FROM study than in the general population; however, urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene and As5+ levels did not differ significantly. Exposure to pollution sources in environmentally vulnerable areas may elevate biomarker levels in residents.