• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.200-204
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• 2018

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in children. Patients with AD experience a high rate of colonization of the skin surface by Staphylococcus aureus. Because of a skin barrier defect, there is a potential risk of staphylococcal invasive infection in patients with AD. Here, we present 2 cases of breast abscess caused by S. aureus in 2 adolescent girls with severe AD. Methicillin-sensitive S. aureus was identified from the breast abscess material. They were treated with appropriate antibiotics, however surgical drainage of the abscess was needed in case 1. Identical strains were found from the breast abscess material as well as the lesional and the nonlesional skin of the patients through matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight analysis. We characterized the differential abundance of Firmicutes phylum in patients' skin in microbiota analysis. In particular, S. aureus, a member of Firmicutes, differed significantly between the lesional and the normal-appearing skin. Our cases demonstrate the potential severity of bacterial deep tissue infection in AD and the dysbiosis of skin microbiota may be involved in inflammation in AD.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.32 no.2 s.57
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• pp.93-97
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• 2006

Staphylococcus aureus is found on the skin of $78{\sim}100%$ of children and adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) but only on the skin of $2{\sim}25%$ of healthy subjects. It is known that S. aureus and their endotoxins as superantigen have important roles in the exacerbation and prolongation of AD. This study was carried out for the detection of S. aureus in the skin of AD, age, sex, outbreak age of AD, treatment duration, aggravation season, and the relation of ooze and S. aureus. Most patients (84%) with AD show colonization of the skin with S. aureus and there is a correlation between the degree of colonization and the serous exudate. It seems likely that the inhibition of S. aureus is associated with improvement in the skin of AD patients.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.142-146
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to identify the drinking patterns and needs for nutritional education of male workers. The subjects in this study were 285 male workers in Ulsan City. The average age of the subjects was 41.2 years old, height was 171.8cm, weight was 69.6kg and Body Mass Index(BMI) was $23.6kg/m^2$. The subjects were classified into 3 drinking patterns such as 'normal drinker(ND)', 'excessive drinker(ED)', and 'alcoholic drinker(AD)' diagnosed by NAST (Alcoholism Screening Test of Seoul National Mental Hospital). Each group was 31.6%(ND), 43.2%(ED) and 25.3% (AD). The amount of one time drinking, frequency, kind of alcohol and spending money were significantly different among the groups. 87.8% of ND thought that the self identity of drinking habits was good. But twenty seven percent of AD thought that it was just not bad, one-half of them(51.4%) thought they seemed to have problems and 20.8% of them thought they were serious. 38.9%(AD), 22.8%(ED) and 6.7%(ND) of each group tried to abstain by turn. Reasons of trying to abstain were health problems, disharmony of family and bad influence on the business and job place. The methods of abstaining were to avoid a drinking gathering or to refuse drinking in the party. 70.8% of AD, 59.3% of ED and 40% of ND thought they needed to take an educational program about abstaining. 58.3% of AD, 43.1 % of ED and 31.1 % of ND answered they would join an alcohol program.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.131-138
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• 2024

The effect of magnetite particles on the anaerobic digestion (AD) of furfural wastewater was investigated using sequential anaerobic batch tests. The batch tests with four 500 mL anaerobic bioreactors were performed under two conditions: FC treatment for AD of furfural without magnetite particles, and FM treatment for AD of furfural with magnetite particles. The FC bioreactors showed a decreasing methane production rate (MPR) across the sequential batches, with a final batch MPR of 11.3 ± 0.4 mL CH₄/L/d, indicating the need for a methanogenesis enhancer to achieve high-rate AD of furfural. Conversely, FM bioreactors exhibited significantly higher MPR, exceeding FC values by 4-196%, with a final batch MPR of 33.5 ± 0.1 mL CH₄/L/d, which was about three times higher than FC. Additionally, FM bioreactors had faster degradation rates of furfural, valeric acid, and acetic acid compared to FC, with values exceeding those in PC by 3.0, 1.14, and 2.8 times, respectively. These results demonstrate that magnetite particles can enhance the AD of furfural not only by accelerating methanogenesis but also by accelerating the anaerobic degradation of furfural and its intermediates, such as volatile fatty acids. This study provides valuable insights for developing high-rate AD systems for furfural wastewater treatment.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.24.1-24.12
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• 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in immunocompromised, especially transplant recipients, may induce a weaker immune response. But there are limited data on the immune response after COVID-19 vaccination in liver transplant (LT) recipients, especially on the comparison of Ab responses after different vaccine platforms between mRNA and adenoviral vector vaccines. Thus, we conducted a prospective study on LT recipients who received two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (ChAdOx1), mRNA-1273, or BNT162b2 vaccines compared with healthy healthcare workers (HCWs). SARS-CoV-2 S1-specific IgG Ab titers were measured using ELISA. Overall, 89 LT recipients (ChAdOx1, n=16 [18%]) or mRNA vaccines (mRNA-1273 vaccine, n=23 [26%]; BNT162b2 vaccine, n=50 [56%]) received 3 different vaccines. Of them, 16 (18%) had a positive Ab response after one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 62 (73%) after 2 doses. However, the median Ab titer after two doses of mRNA vaccines was significantly higher (44.6 IU/ml) than after two doses of ChAdOx1 (19.2 IU/ml, p=0.04). The longer time interval from transplantation was significantly associated with high Ab titers after two doses of vaccine (p=0.003). However, mycophenolic acid use was not associated with Ab titers (p=0.53). In conclusion, about 3-quarters of LT recipients had a positive Ab response after 2 doses of vaccine, and the mRNA vaccines induced higher Ab responses than the ChAdOx1 vaccine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1393-1400
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• 2008

Recent study has demonstrated an increasing prevalence of food allergy in Korean children. Specific probiotic bacteria may promote potentially anti-allergenic processes through induction of Th1-type immunity and enhance the regulatory lymphocyte. This study investigated whether orally administrated probiotics could suppress allergic responses in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergy mouse model. Thus, female C3H/HeJ mice were orally sensitized with OVA and cholera toxin for 4 weeks. Lactobacillus acidophilus AD031, Bifidobacterium lactis AD011, and L. acidophilus AD031 plus B. lactis AD011 were fed to mice from 2 weeks before the sensitization. The OVA-induced mice that were not treated with probiotics had significantly increased serum levels of OVA-specific IgE and IgG1, and OVA-specific IgA in feces. However, the mice treated with probiotics suppressed production of the OVA-specific IgE, IgG1, and IgA. The level of IL-4 was significantly lower, and the levels of INF-$\gamma$ and IL-10 were significantly higher in the mice treated with probiotics than that in the non-treated mice. The groups treated with probiotics had decreased levels of degranulated mast cells, eosinophil granules, and tail scabs. These results indicate that L. acidophilus AD031 and B. lactis AD011 might be useful for the prevention of allergy.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.189-195
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• 2004

1bis study investigated the antioxidative effect in kidney of senescence-accelerated prone SAMP8 mice with calorie restriction. 4-weeks-old SAMP8 female mice were divided into 4 groups according to the experimental feeding period: for 4, 8, 12 month, and at natural death. Each group was subdivided into 2 groups, with thirteen mice each one, as ad libitum group and as dietary restriction group (60% of ad libitum feeding amount). After feeding for a given period, the mice were sacrificed to get the following results: among the experimental groups, there wereno significant differences in xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity in their kidney tissues. The contents of cytochrome $P_{450}$ decreased in ad libitum group and dietary restriction group by age. The activity of NADPH-cytochrome $P_{450}$ reductase showed a trend similar to cytochrome $P_{450}$. Superoxide radical content increased with age. At the 4th, 8th and 12 months of the experimental period, the activity in the dietary restriction group was less than that of ad libitum group by as much as 17% 14% and 14% respectively. For hydrogen peroxide, the contents were increased in the ad libitum group with age, while no correlation between content and age was observed in the dietary restriction group. In the 8th and 12th months of the experimental period, the were in the dietary restriction group less than that of ad libitum group counterpart as much as 17% and 20o/c, respectively. For the cellular membrane stability of the kidney, no significant correlation with age was observed in either the dietary restriction group or the ad libitum group. However at the 12th month of the experiment, however, the stability in the dietary restriction group was 11 % higher than that in the ad libitum group. In conclusion, with these results obtained from the SAMP8 mouse model, we demonstrate that dietary restriction has the effects of anti-oxidation and anti-senescence in the kidney.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.29-32
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• 1999

The Apolipoprotein E type 4 allele (ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$) is genetically associated with the common late onset familial and sporadic forms of Alzheimer's disease. The BchE-k variant, which is the common variant of the BchE gene, has been reported to show allelic association with AD in subjects who are also carriers of the ${\varepsilon}4$ allele of the ApoE, especially in subjects over the age of 75. This study was performed to evaluate the distribution of the ApoE and the BchE genotypes in the healthy and AD groups and to evaluate the synergy between the BchE-k variant and the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ in AD. The ApoE and the BchE genotypes were determined in DNA samples from 610 healthy people and 60 LOAD patients by using ARMS by standard agarose gel electrophoresis. The effect of the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ was closely related to AD(p<0.05). A comparison between the AD patients and the healthy individuals, both with the ${\varepsilon}4$ allele, indicated an interaction between the BchE-k and the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$(p<0.05). The association of the BchE-k with AD was limited to carriers of the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ allele, among whom the presence of the BchE-k gave an odds ratio of AD 3.48 (95% C.I. 1.3-9.2). Therefore, these results suggested that further evidence of an association between the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ and LOAD, and the BchE-k acts in synergy with the ApoE ${\varepsilon}4$ as a susceptibility gene for AD.

• International Neurourology Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.237-245
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• 2018

Purpose: Presenilins are functionally important components of ${\gamma}$-secretase, which cleaves a number of transmembrane proteins. Manipulations of PSEN1 and PSEN2 have been separately studied in Alzheimer disease (AD) and cancer because both involve substrates of ${\gamma}$-secretase. However, numerous clinical studies have reported an inverse correlation between AD and cancer. Interestingly, AD is a neurodegenerative disorder, whereas cancer is characterized by the proliferation of malignant cells. However, this inverse correlation in the PSEN double-knockout (PSEN dKO) mouse model of AD has been not elucidated, although doing so would shed light onto the relationship between AD and cancer. Methods: To investigate the inverse relationship of AD and cancer under conditions of PSEN loss, we used the hippocampus of 7-month-old and 18-month-old PSEN dKO mice for a microRNA (miRNA) microarray analysis, and explored the tumorsuppressive or oncogenic role of differentially-expressed miRNAs. Results: The total number of miRNAs that showed changes in expression level was greater at 18 months of age than at 7 months. Most of the putative target genes of the differentially-expressed miRNAs involved Cancer pathways. Conclusions: Based on literature reviews, many of the miRNAs involved in Cancer pathways were found to be known tumorsuppressive miRNAs, and their target genes were known or putative oncogenes. In conclusion, the expression levels of known tumor-suppressive miRNAs increased at 7 and 18 months, in the PSEN dKO mouse model of AD, supporting the negative correlation between AD and cancer.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.40-46
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• 2015

Neuroglial cells are fundamental for brain homeostasis and defense to intrinsic or extrinsic changes. Loss of their function and over-reactivity to stimuli contribute to the aging of brain. Alzheimer's disease (AD) could be caused by more dramatic response in neuroglia associated with various chemokines and cytokines. Neuroglia of the AD brain shares some phenotypes with aging neuroglia. In addition, neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation are commonly showed in neurodegeneration. Thus neuroglia would be a promising target for therapeutics of AD.