We report the results of investigating and managing a tuberculosis (TB) exposure in a postpartum care center. Among the contacts exposed to a nursing assistant with subclinical TB, 5 of 44 neonates (11.4%) had positive tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) at 3 months of age, and all the TST-positive neonates received the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination. Seven of 28 healthcare workers (25.0%) and 1 of 3 household contacts (33.3%) were positive in the initial or repeated interferon-gamma release assay. None of the contacts developed TB disease during the study period. Annual TB examinations of healthcare personnel at a postpartum care center under the Tuberculosis Prevention Act in South Korea enabled the early detection of subclinical TB, which reduced the risk of transmission to neonates under strict coronavirus disease 2019 prevention measures.

Hypoxia can occur in pancreatic islets in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are activated during hypoxia. Here we aimed to investigate whether PSCs within the islet are also activated in hypoxia, causing β-cell injury.

In 2016, novel H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus emerged in Korea. During the outbreak, the virus caused the largest culling, especially in brown chicken lines. We determined the pathogenicity and transmissibility of the virus in 2 white chicken lines of the specific pathogen-free chickens, broilers and brown chicken line of Korean native chicken (KNC). A KNC had a longer virus shedding period and longer mean death time than others. Our study showed that this characteristic in the KNC might have contributed to a farm-to-farm transmission of the brown chicken farms.
Agriculture ; Animals ; Chickens ; Influenza in Birds ; Korea ; Virulence ; Virus Shedding

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the tooth bleaching effect of two whitening materials in toothpaste i.e., hydroxyapatite and hydrogen peroxide on. In a randomized, double blinded controlled clinical trial, 85 participants with tooth colorations were assigned to use one of three toothpastes containing either hydroxyapatite (0.25%), hydrogen peroxide (0.75%), or no active ingredient (placebo). The patients were examined at baseline and 1, 2, and 3 months after usage. METHODS: The patients underwent an oral examination, tooth shade measurement, and a subjective evaluation. During the oral examination, the patient's oral health status was determined. ShadeEye NCC and Vita classical shade guide were used to determine the tooth color. Further, the patients were asked to assess the color of their own teeth using a visual analog scale (VAS) scale (range, 1-5). RESULTS: According to the CIELAB system, a significantly greater color change (Deltab*) was observed in the hydrogen peroxide group (2.10+/-1.54) than in the hydroxyapatite (1.50+/-1.09) and control (0.94+/-0.75) groups after 3 months of toothpaste usage (P<0.002). The DeltaE*color change was not statistically significant among the 3 groups at each time point (P>0.05). The subjective evaluation results of the hydroxyapatite (P=0.023) and hydrogen peroxide (P=0.047) groups were statistically significant at each time point. CONCLUSIONS: The hydrogen peroxide-containing toothpaste caused significant lightening of tooth coloration than the hydroxyapatite and placebo toothpastes.
Diagnosis, Oral ; Durapatite* ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide* ; Hydrogen* ; Oral Health ; Tooth ; Tooth Bleaching ; Toothpastes* ; Visual Analog Scale

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effect of dental amalgam, a restorative material, on children by measuring the mercury concentration in the urine as well as the number of teeth filled with dental amalgam. METHODS: Twenty children enrolled in grades 1-4 of two elementary schools in Daegu participated in this study. One trained dentist performed oral examinations and removed amalgam restorations from the teeth with a high and low speed handpiece. In order to measure the urinary mercury concentrations, urine samples were collected from all participants at baseline and immediately and 24 hours after removal of the dental amalgam restorations. RESULTS: The mean number of teeth from which the amalgam restorations was removed was 9.8 while the mean urinary mercury concentrations at baseline, immediately, and 24 hours after removal of dental amalgam restorations were 2.66, 2.76, and 2.76 microg/g creatinine, respectively. The mean urinary mercury concentration increased consistently after amalgam restoration removal. For those participants whose removed amalgamated surfaces were more than 11, the mean urinary mercury concentration immediately after amalgam restoration removal and 24 hours after removal increased consistently but showed no significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that dental amalgam restoration was related to urinary mercury concentration, and these findings present a possibility of mercury accumulation in the body. Therefore, we suggest future longitudinal studies to ensure the safety of children exposed to mercury by establishing criteria for amalgam removal.
Child* ; Creatinine ; Daegu ; Dental Amalgam ; Dentists ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Pilot Projects* ; Tooth

OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we aimed to develop an oral examination smart chart application for tablet personal computers (PC). We evaluated the time required to perform an oral examination and assessed the degree of user's convenience by using this application. We determined to make our application cost and human resource effective by automatically computerizing the statistics to facilitate its application in oral health services such as national oral health research. The development of this application for tablet PCs was aimed at recording the results of oral examinations. METHODS: We produced flow charts and designed the program screen, which would replace the existing paper chart. To evaluate the efficiency of the application, 1 preventive dentistry professor and 6 dentistry students performed an oral examination on 41 subjects. We performed the oral examination in duplicate using a tablet PC and a paper chart. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 program. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The time required for oral examination by the study group (the group using the application) and the control group (the group using paper) were 131.93+/-10.14 and 151.85+/-7.77, respectively; the difference between these values was statistically significant (P-value=0.002). The oral examination could be performed faster in the study group (the group using the application) than in the control group; therefore, we noted that the time taken for oral examination was reduced by using the application. CONCLUSIONS: The tablet-based system has been shown to save time by omitting the step of entering the paper chart data into a computer. Further, the findings of this study can be used to establish an oral health index database with the help of additional resources. Moreover, it would facilitate creating awareness among the patients with regard to their oral health indices through the use of visual aids.
Audiovisual Aids ; Dentistry ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Oral Health ; Preventive Dentistry

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often accompanied by increased levels of circulating fatty acid. Elevations in fatty acids and glucose for prolonged periods of time have been suggested to cause progressive dysfunction or apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells in T2DM. However, the precise mechanism of this adverse effect is not well understood. METHODS: INS-1 rat-derived insulin-secreting cells were exposed to 30 mM glucose and 0.25 mM palmitate for 48 hours. RESULTS: The production of reactive oxygen species increased significantly. Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) expression was down-regulated, as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. The promoter activities of insulin and Pdx1 were also diminished. Of note, there was nucleocytoplasmic translocation of Pdx1, which was partially prevented by treatment with an antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that prolonged exposure of beta cells to elevated levels of glucose and palmitate negatively affects Pdx1 expression via oxidative stress.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fatty Acids ; Genes, Homeobox ; Glucose ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species

BACKGROUND: Glucose toxicity that is caused by chronic exposure to a high glucose concentration leads to islet dysfunction and induces apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been identified as an anti-apoptotic and cytoprotective gene. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether HO-1 up-regulation when using metalloprotophyrin (cobalt protoporphyrin, CoPP) could protect pancreatic beta-cells from high glucose-induced apoptosis. METHODS: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze the CoPP-induced mRNA expression of HO-1. Cell viability of INS-1 cells cultured in the presence of CoPP was examined by acridine orange/propidium iodide staining. The generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using flow cytometry. Glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was determined following incubation with CoPP in different glucose concentrations. RESULTS: CoPP increased HO-1 mRNA expression in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. Overexpression of HO-1 inhibited caspase-3, and the number of dead cells in the presence of CoPP was significantly decreased when exposed to high glucose conditions (HG). CoPP also decreased the generation of intracellular ROS by 50% during 72 hours of culture with HG. However, decreased GSIS was not recovered even in the presence of CoPP. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that CoPP-induced HO-1 up-regulation results in protection from high glucose-induced apoptosis in INS-1 cells; however, glucose stimulated insulin secretion is not restored.
Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Survival ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Flow Cytometry ; Glucose ; Heme ; Heme Oxygenase-1 ; Insulin ; Protoporphyrins ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; RNA, Messenger ; Up-Regulation

BACKGROUND: Despite a recent breakthough in human islet transplantation for treating type 1 diabetes mellitus, the limited availability of donor pancreases remains a major obstacle. Endocrine cells within the gut epithelium (enteroendocrine cells) and pancreatic beta cells share similar pathways of differentiation during embryonic development. In particular, K-cells that secrete glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) have been shown to express many of the key proteins found in beta cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that K-cells can be transdifferentiated into beta cells because both cells have remarkable similarities in their embryonic development and cellular phenotypes. METHODS: K-cells were purified from heterogeneous STC-1 cells originating from an endocrine tumor of a mouse intestine. In addition, a K-cell subclone expressing stable Nkx6.1, called "Kn4-cells," was successfully obtained. In vitro differentiation of K-cells or Kn4-cells into beta cells was completed after exendin-4 treatment and serum deprivation. The expressions of insulin mRNA and protein were examined by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The interacellular insulin content was also measured. RESULTS: K-cells were found to express glucokinase and GIP as assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. RT-PCR showed that K-cells also expressed Pdx-1, NeuroD1/Beta2, and MafA, but not Nkx6.1. After exendin-4 treatment and serum deprivation, insulin mRNA and insulin or C-peptide were clearly detected in Kn4-cells. The intracellular insulin content was also increased significantly in these cells. CONCLUSION: K-cells are an attractive potential source of insulin-producing cells for treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, more experiments are necessary to optimize a strategy for converting K-cells into beta cells.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; C-Peptide ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Embryonic Development ; Endocrine Cells ; Enteroendocrine Cells ; Epithelium ; Female ; Glucokinase ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Intestines ; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation ; Mice ; Pancreas ; Peptides ; Phenotype ; Pregnancy ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger ; Tissue Donors ; Venoms

Helicobacter pylori is a spiral, slow growing gram-negative microaerophilic bacterium. It has been shown to be the etiological agent of gastroduodenal diseases, such as chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. General culture condition of H. pylori is 5% O2, 10% CO2 and 100% humid atmosphere. We have compared proliferation protein expression profile of H. pylori incubated under normal microaerophilic (10% CO2) and environment stress (4% CO2, 18% CO2) conditions. H. pylori cultured under environment stress displayed coccoid morphology and timedependent decrease in proliferation. We have further compared the protein expression profiles of H. pylori under normal growing and environment stress conditions by a global proteomic analysis, which includes high-resolution 2-DE followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight and nanoelectrospray/tandem mass spectrometry. In total, 42 protein spots were found to be up- or down-regulated by more than 2-fold under environment stress conditions. Of the 42 protein spots processed, 27 spots were identified; they represented 19 genes, including 2 kinds of hypothetical proteins.
Atmosphere ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Mass Spectrometry ; Proteome* ; Stomach Neoplasms