To study the gyrA mutations of E. coli from clinical specimens, 410 strains were isolated from 1994 to 1997 in Kyungpook National Vniversity hospital. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests, PCR and sequencing of gyrA, and in vitro induction of quinolone resistance were done. The frequency of quinolone resistant E. coli strains increased constantly during 1994 through 1996. Quinolone-resistant strains were more often resistant to unrelated antibiotics than quinolone-susceptible strains (chi-square test, p<0.05). All of the randomly selected 55 quinolone- resist#ant strains were highly resistant to nalidixic acid (NAL) but had low level resistance to fluoroquinolones. All of the 55 quinolone-resistant strains showed an amino acid substitution of Ser -> Leu (TCG -> TIG) at codon 83. In addition, four different types of amino acid substitution affecting codon 87 (Asp) were detected, 1) type I: Asn (GAC -> AAC); 2) type II: Tyr (GAC -> TAC); 3) type III: Oly (GAC -> GGC); 4) type IV: His (GAC -> CAC). The mutation of type IV has not been reported previously in quinolone-resistant E. coli strains. It is thought that the specific amino acid substitution probably affects minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of quinolones because the MICs of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin in type II were significantly higher than those of type I. By in vitro induction, MICs to quinolone-susceptible strains resulted in the increase in the MICs of all quinolones tested by 2- to 2048-fold. The induced mutants by quinolones had amino acid substitutions at codon 83, SerLeu or Asp87Asn, Gly or Tyr. Alteration of Ser83 results in the most effective increase in the MIC of quinolone such as NAL and alterations of Asp87 result in the effective increase of MIC of fluoroquinolone. These results suggest that the continuous use of quinolones might induce the specific amino acid substitution at gyrA.
Amino Acid Substitution ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ciprofloxacin ; Codon ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Fluoroquinolones ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Nalidixic Acid ; Norfloxacin ; Ofloxacin ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Quinolones

BACKGROUND: The HLA system is known to be the most polymorphic genetic system in human and there are characteristic racial differences in the distribution of HLA antigens, alleles, and haplotypes. This study was performed to examine the frequency of HLA antigens, alleles and haplotypes in Koreans. METHODS: Two thousand healthy Koreans registered for unrelated bone marrow donors were subject to the study. HLA-A, B and C antigens were typed by the serological method, and HLA-DR DNA typing (low resolution) was done by PCR and reverse hybridization. HLA allele and haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium values were calculated by the maximun likelihood method using the computer program of the 11th International Histocompatibility Workshop. RESULTS: HLA antigens identified in 2000 Koreans were 14 in A locus, 33 in B locus, 8 in C locus and 12 in DR locus. Alleles showing frequencies of more than 10% in decreasing order of frequency In each HLA locus were A2, A24, A33, All, B44, B62; CBL, Cw3, Cwl, Cw7, DR4, DR2, DRl3, DR8, and DR9. Among A-B, C-B, B-DR 2-locus haplotypes, A33-B44, A30-B13, Al-B37, Cwl-B54, Cw4-B62, B7-DR1, B37-DR10 showed strong positive linkage disequilibrium (Chi-square > 1000). The most common A-B-DR haplotypes in Koreans occurring at frequency of more than 2% were A33-B44-DRl3 (4.8%), A33-B58-DRl3 (3.2%), A33-B44-DR7 (2.6%), All-B62-DR4 (2.3%), A24-B7-DR1 (2.3%), and A30-Bl3-DR7 (2.1%) Comparison of the distribution of A-B-DR haplotypes among east Asian populations reveals that Koreans are most close to Japanese, but show higher degree of polymorphism in the distribution of HLA haplotypes compared to Japanese. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study can be used as basic data for Koreans in the fields of organ transplantation, disease association studies and anthropologic studies.
Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Marrow ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Education ; Haplotypes* ; Histocompatibility ; HLA Antigens* ; HLA-A Antigens ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Organ Transplantation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

This study was undertaken to document the effect of transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-beta2(TGF-beta2) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the proliferation of pig retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). Whereas bFGF increased the proliferation, TGF-beta2 showed the inhibitory effect on the proliferation The inhibitory effect of TGF-beta2 disappeared in RPE subcultured with 10ng/ml of bFGF. Both TGF-beta2- and bFGF-specific antisense oligonucleotides blocked the autocrine effect of the growth factors. PLC-71 -specific antisense oligonucleotide inhibited the effect of TGF-beta2 and bFGF. Genistein inhibited the effect of TGF-beta2 and bFGF in dose-dependent man, ner. The data suggest the involvement. of in PLC-/1 and tyrosine kinase in signalling.
Epithelial Cells* ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Genistein ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Retinaldehyde* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta2*

PURPOSE: To identify relationships among lifestyle, psychological distress, and reproductive health in female university students. METHODS: We used a descriptive cross-sectional design. A total of 275 subjects were enrolled. Subjects agreed to undergo a face-to-face interview, including administration of structured questionnaires to determine health promotion lifestyle profile II (HPLP-II), depression anxiety stress scale for depression and anxiety (DASS-D, DASS-A), and reproductive health (knowledge, attitude, behavior, menstruation irregularity, dysmenorrhea, and gynecologic symptoms). RESULTS: The mean age of subjects was 21.2 years. Those with low HPLP-II score showed significantly high menstruation irregularity. Those with high depression and anxiety had significantly high reproductive symptoms. In addition, high HPLP-II score was correlated with low depression, anxiety, and high reproductive health. CONCLUSION: The life style of female university students is associated with depression, anxiety, and reproductive health. To improve female university students' reproductive health, life style interventions including healthy nutritional habit, physical activity, and stress management are important.
Anxiety* ; Depression* ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female* ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Life Style* ; Menstruation ; Motor Activity ; Reproductive Health* ; Stress, Psychological

BACKGROUND : Diabetes is an independent risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis. Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein is considered to be an important step in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of in vivo LDL oxidation in diabetic patients by measuring antibody against oxidized LDL. METHODS : Plasma samples from 64 NIDDM patients and 30 normal controls were tested for antibody against oxidized LDL by two ELISA methods and for plasma lipid hydroperoxides by the ferrous oxidation with xylenol orange (FOX II) assay. In the first ELISA, antibody levels were estimated as the difference in binding to copperoxidized LDL between untreated plasma and plasma preabsorbed with oxidized LDL. In the second ELISA, antibody levels were estimated as the ratio of IgG binding to copper-oxidized LDL to native LDL. RESULTS : There was no significant difference in levels of antibodies to copper-oxidized LDL between NIDDM patients and normal controls with both ELISA methods. There was also no significant difference in levels of antibodies to copper-oxidized LDL between NIDDM patients with ischemic heart disease (n=24) and NIDDM patients without ischemic heart disease (n=40). Plasma lipid hydroperoxides in the diabetic group were significantly higher than in the control. CONCLUSION : The present study shows that antibodies to copper-oxidized LDL are not significantly raised in our NIDDM patients. Further study to measure antibodies to malondialdehydeLDL would be necessary.
Antibodies ; Atherosclerosis ; Citrus sinensis ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Lipoproteins* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Plasma ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Korea is, known to be an endemic area of viral hepatitis B, and 5-6% of population are carriers. Immunization can reduce the spread of hepatitis B infection. Hower, not all people respond to hepatitis B immunsation. 5-15% of primary vaccinees fail to be immunized. After revaccination, only 37.5 44% of the primary failures elicit antibody response. Recent studies have reported that it is effective to inject a double dose vaccination in immunocompromsed patients. In some country, they recommend that neonate whode mother is HBV carrier shoud receive double dose vaccination. This study documented the results of double dose vaccintion only once to nonrsponders toward the HBV immunzation. METHODS: Healthy nonresponders to Hepatitis B immunization were recuited from Sep. 1995 to Aug. 1996. Subjects with their AST/ALT level over 40, or over 65 years old were excluded. They were received 2ml of plasma-derived vaccine(Hepavax-B) intramuscularly in the deltoid muscle. Anti-HBs antibody testing were performed at 1 to 3 months after vaccintion. RESULTS: 17 healthy nanreponders to Hepatitis B immunization(male 10, female 7) were included. Their mean ages were 47(32 to64), AST/ALT level 20/19(16 to 28/11 to 35), smoking 4.3pys(1 to 7). Seroconversion occured in 13 of them(76.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Nonresponders to Hepatitis B vaccintion respond well to double dose vaccination once.
Aged ; Antibody Formation ; Deltoid Muscle ; Female ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunization, Secondary ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Mothers ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vaccination*

Osteoid Osteoma occurs anywhere in skeleton. They are most common in lower extremity, particularly femur about 40%. Two-thirds of femoral lesions is in the intertrochanter or intracapsular regions of the hip. The lesion is usually cortical and may extend into the periosteal or endosteal surface of the bone. It is rare in the cancellous bone. We experienced a case of osteoid osteoma in intertrochanteric cancellous portion of the femur in 50 year old man. Many complained right hip pain worsend three weeks before his visit. Radiograph shows sclerosis around a lucent nidus in cancellous portion. The lesion did not extend to the endosteal surface. We have removed nidus and surrounding reactive portion completely with curettage. Follow up radiographic results after 20 weeks, showed no evidence of recurrence.
Adult* ; Curettage ; Femur* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Osteoma, Osteoid* ; Recurrence ; Sclerosis ; Skeleton

The association between non-islet cell tumors and fasting hypoglycemia has been recognized since 1929. The humoral mediator of this non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia(NICTH) is now known as IGF-II. Hypoglycemia develops commonly in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), mostly late in the course and usually mild to moderate in severity. Rarely, severe hypoglycemia occurs early in the course of HCC, suggesting NICTH. We report a case of HCC in which hypoglycemic coma due to NICTH was the presenting symptom.A 52-year-old man developed mental confusion and seizures in the early morning. At emergency room, he was found to have severe hypoglycemia. Circulating levels of insulin, C-peptide, insulinlike growth factor-I(IGF-I) and growth hormone were reduced during hypoglycemia. Diagnostic work-up revealed that he had unresectable HCC. During admission, infusion of more than 400g of dextrose per day in addition to meals was required to prevent hypoglycemia. Because the chemotherapy was refused, he was transferred to a local hospital to receive infusions of dextrose.
Adenoma, Islet Cell ; C-Peptide ; Coma ; Drug Therapy ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Glucose ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulin ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor II ; Islets of Langerhans ; Meals ; Middle Aged ; Seizures

Tuberculosis of the duodenum is rare event in patients with pulmonary or intestinal tuberculoais. It is very difficult to diagnose duodenal tuberculosis because of inconaiatent symptoms and nonspecific duodenal lesioa. Although fiberoptic endoscopy has been used, there is the limitation of fiberoptic endoscopy ia diagnosingthis disease and the diagnoais require laparotomy with biopsy. Recently we experienced a case of duodenal tuberculosis with duodenoscopic findings of the submucosal tumor of duaidenum. We report a case with review of literatures.
Biopsy ; Duodenum* ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Tuberculosis*

One hundred and thirty trimethoprim-resistant R plasmids derived from of Escherichia coli isolated from clinical specimens and feces of healthy collegians were examined for incompatibility, EcoRI endonuclease restriction fragment pattern, and Southern hybridization with DHFR I, II, III, V, and VII probe. 1. Most trimethoprim-resistant R plasmids were resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and kanamycin, and showed multiple drug resistance and various antimicrobial resistance patterns. 2. Trimethoprim-resistant R plasmids ranged from 90 to 50 kilobase and 42.3% of R plasmids tested were classified to incompatibilty group Inc FI, Inc FII or Inc FIV, 3. Among 48 random selected R plasmids from various origin, 14 R plasmids (including 9 of 14 Inc FII plasmids and 3 of 14 Inc FI plasmids) hybridized with DHFR VII oligonucleotide probe but others did not respond to any of DHFR probes used. 4. Most R plasmids showed various EcoRI endonuclease fragments and different reaction sites by Southern hybridization. Six plasmids showed identical or nearly identical molecular weight, EcoRI endonuclease fragment patterns and different sites of Southern hybridization. But 2 Inc FII plasmids derived from urine and feces showed identical pattern. These findings, if confirmed by further studies, suggest that normal flora E. coli can act as reservoir of resistant genes and, consequently, as a factor in the dissemination of these genes among enteric pathogens and need to be examined further.
Ampicillin ; Chloramphenicol ; Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Feces ; Gentamicins ; Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline ; Kanamycin ; Molecular Biology* ; Molecular Weight ; Plasmids ; R Factors ; Tetracycline ; Trimethoprim Resistance* ; Trimethoprim*