One hundred and thirty-eight strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from the 7th nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in 1995 were subjected to the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using IS6110 probe to define the representative fingerprinting patterns of Korean strains of M. tuberculosis and to evaluate the usefulness of DNA fingerprinting in tracing the transmission link of M. tuberculosis. Among 138 strains, 129 different IS6l10 RFLP types were identified. The number of bands in IS6110 RFLP types diversed from 1 to 20, and the majority (75%) was 9 to 14 bands. The RFLP patterns of 8 out of 15 strains isolated from the follow-up survey of one and half year later after the 7th national TB prevalence survey were unchanged when compared with previous RFLP patterns. Fifteen (11%) out of 138 strains were grouped in 6 IS6110 clusters; 2 with 10 copies, 2 with 12 copies, 1 with 14 copies, and 1 with 17 copies. These clusters were unable to be subclassified by IS1081 or (GTG) probes except one cluster by pTBN12 probe. The transmission links of 2 clusters were deducible; one from household and another from neighborhood, but those of remaining clusters were unclear because they had no contact one another. The results suggest that vigorous transmissions in tuberculosis are still progressing in Korea.
Dermatoglyphics ; DNA Fingerprinting* ; DNA* ; Family Characteristics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Korea ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Prevalence* ; Residence Characteristics ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
Apnea* ; Doxapram*

Angiokeratoma circumscriptum is present at birth or early childhood and is an uncommon dermatosis characterized by papules and small nodules that may coalesce to form plaques. Histopathologically, there are varying degrees of hyperkeratosis, papillomatosis, and irregular acanthosis. In the papillary dermis, greatly dilated capillaries are observed, The acanthotic epidermis encircles the vascular spaces(blood cysts) where, occasionally, organized thrombi may be found. The use of pulsed-dye lasers to treat cutaneous vascular lesions is based on the theory of selective photothermolysis. We report a case of an angiokeratoma circumscriptum in an 48-year-old woman for whom the flashlamp pulsed tunable dye laser proved to be a highly successful means of treatment.
Angiokeratoma* ; Capillaries ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Lasers, Dye* ; Middle Aged ; Papilloma ; Parturition ; Skin Diseases

No abstract available.
Gastroenteritis* ; Humans*

No abstract available.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium*

HIV-1 p24 was cloned into multiple cloning site of pMV261, extrachromosomal expression vectors carrying BCG replication origin and BCG-specific heat-shock promoter, and then introduced into BCG and E. coli. Western blot experiments showed that the p24 efficiently expressed in recombinant BCG (rBCG), but not in E. coli. Recombinant p24 expression induced by a single heat-shock of rBCG was maintained longer than 3 weeks. Immunoblot experiments with intact rBCG did not show any distinctive positive signal, suggesting that the recombinant protein was not secreted or exposed at the surface of BCG. The guinea pigs immunized with live rBCG showed delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) by the systemic area as well as an effective humoral immunity, suggesting that tbis rBCG is believed to elicit eKcient immune responses against p24, even though the expression is restricted only in the cytoplasm as reported previously with other antigen. These results demonstrate that BCG can be developed as a live recombinant vaccine vector against a broad spectrum of infectious disease.
Animals* ; Blotting, Western ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; Communicable Diseases ; Cytoplasm ; Guinea Pigs ; HIV* ; HIV-1 ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunity, Humoral ; Mycobacterium bovis* ; Replication Origin

No abstract available.
Carbon*

PURPOSE: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a major neurologic problem and one of the most important perinatal causes of neurological morbidity. Evaluation of the presence, extent, and subsequent evolution of hypoxic-ischemic lesions may be very important. We studied the significance of imaging modality through the analysis of brain MRI findings of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy during neonatal period and comparison with findings of brain ultrasonography. METHODS: We analysed the forty-seven infants retrospectively who were diagnosed as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and underwent brain MRI and ultrasonography from Jan. 1992 to May 1996. RESULTS: 1) The mean gestational age and birth weight of the twenty-seven infants who were premature were 32.8+/-2.08weeks and 1.97+/-0.44kg respectively. The mean gestational age and birth weight of twenty infants who were fullterm were 39.3+/-1.04weeks and 2.98+/- 0.93kg respectively. The primary hypoxic-ischemic insults occurred during antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. 2) The findings of brain MRI were classified into periventricular leukomalacia, encephalomalacia, basal ganglia lesion, focal parenchymal hemorrhage, ventriculomegaly without other lesion and normal finding. 3) Three infants among twenty-five infants with periventricular leukomalacia, four infants among seven infants with basal ganglia lesion and six infants among seven infants with focal parenchymal hemorrhage were not diagnosed by brain ultrasonography. 4) All of ten infants with encephalomalacia and four infants with ventriculomegaly without other lesion were diagnosed by brain ultrasonography. CONCLUSIONS: MRI can diagnose the hypoxic-ischemic lesions which would not be possible by brain ultrasonography. Therefore MRI is the imaging modality of choice for diagnosis in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. We believe that the benefits of MRI outweigh its somewhat higher cost, lack of portability and monitoring difficulties.
Basal Ganglia ; Birth Weight ; Brain ; Diagnosis ; Encephalomalacia ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukomalacia, Periventricular ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a major neurologic problem and one of the most important perinatal causes of neurological morbidity. Evaluation of the presence, extent, and subsequent evolution of hypoxic-ischemic lesions may be very important. We studied the significance of imaging modality through the analysis of brain MRI findings of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy during neonatal period and comparison with findings of brain ultrasonography. METHODS: We analysed the forty-seven infants retrospectively who were diagnosed as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and underwent brain MRI and ultrasonography from Jan. 1992 to May 1996. RESULTS: 1) The mean gestational age and birth weight of the twenty-seven infants who were premature were 32.8+/-2.08weeks and 1.97+/-0.44kg respectively. The mean gestational age and birth weight of twenty infants who were fullterm were 39.3+/-1.04weeks and 2.98+/- 0.93kg respectively. The primary hypoxic-ischemic insults occurred during antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. 2) The findings of brain MRI were classified into periventricular leukomalacia, encephalomalacia, basal ganglia lesion, focal parenchymal hemorrhage, ventriculomegaly without other lesion and normal finding. 3) Three infants among twenty-five infants with periventricular leukomalacia, four infants among seven infants with basal ganglia lesion and six infants among seven infants with focal parenchymal hemorrhage were not diagnosed by brain ultrasonography. 4) All of ten infants with encephalomalacia and four infants with ventriculomegaly without other lesion were diagnosed by brain ultrasonography. CONCLUSIONS: MRI can diagnose the hypoxic-ischemic lesions which would not be possible by brain ultrasonography. Therefore MRI is the imaging modality of choice for diagnosis in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. We believe that the benefits of MRI outweigh its somewhat higher cost, lack of portability and monitoring difficulties.
Basal Ganglia ; Birth Weight ; Brain ; Diagnosis ; Encephalomalacia ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukomalacia, Periventricular ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography

D variant of encephalomyocarditis (EMC-D) virus causes diabetes in susceptible mice by direct infection and cytolysis of pancreatic beta cells. cDNA covering the major outer capsid protein (VP1) of EMC-D virus was cloned into Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). None of the SJL/J male mice, immunized with live recombinant BCG-VP1, became diabetic when challenged with highly diabetogenic EMC-D virus. But the control mice inoculated with normal BCG or rBCG transformed with vector alone developed diabetes in the same challenge. VP1-specific antibodies including neutralizing antibodies were markedly increased as time went on and reached to the maximum titer at week 10 after a single immunization. The plateau of the titer lasted longer than following 4 weeks. Guinea pigs immunized with the live rBCG-VP1 showed strong delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) to the VP1of EMC-D virus. It means that the live rBCG-VP1 elicit efficient humoral and cell-mediated imrnune responses against EMC-D virus, resulting in prevention of virus-induced diabetes in susceptible mice.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Bacillus ; Capsid Proteins ; Clone Cells ; DNA, Complementary ; Guinea Pigs ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunization* ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Male* ; Mice* ; Mycobacterium bovis*