• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2020

The whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei can survive in a wide range of salinity (1-40 psu). However, such variation, particularly at low salinity (1-5 psu), can affect various physiological changes such as survival rates, non-specific immunity and disease resistance. In this study, growth, non-specific immunity and disease resistance were measured following simultaneous oral feeding and addition of probiotic microbes into culture water for 73 day period. The salinity of the culture water was maintained at 3 psu by periodical salt additions. The result shows that survival rate increased significantly (5.6 vs. 15.4%) after 73 day rearing. Significant increases were identified in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and phenol oxidase (PO) activity. However, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was not influenced. When the shrimp was artificially challenged with Vibrio alginolyticus, slight mortality reduction was observed in the probiotics-treated group (100 vs. 79%). In conclusion, the production of cultured whiteleg shrimp at low salinity might be increased by probiotics survivable at low salinity levels.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6905-6910
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• 2014

Background: The relation ofsurvivin gene expression to survival and surgical prognostic factors in the patients with endometrial carcinoma is unclear. Materials and Methods: In this study, 62 cases who were operated due to endometrial carcinoma were investigated between 2003 and 2011 in the the gynecological oncology clinic of Female Disease Training and Investigation Hospital of Etlik Zubeyde, Hanim, Turkey. Clinical and surgical prognostic factors were investigated by screening the records of these cases. With the standard streptavidin-biotin immune peroxidase method, cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of survivin was investigated in sections with specific antibodies (1:100, diagnostic Bio Systems, USA) primer. The aim was to elucidate any relation between survivin expression and defined prognostic factors and survival. Results: There was no statistically significant relationship between cytoplasmic and nuclear indexes identified for survivin and age, body mass index, the levels of preoperative hemoglobin, platelet and Ca 125, stage, grade, lymph node meastasis, the number of meta statical lymph nodes (total, paraaortic and pelvic), myometrial invasion, serosal invasion, adnexal involvement, the presence of acid in the first diagnosis, the involvement of omentum, the adjuvant treatment application of the cases, the presence of recurrence and rate of mortality (p>0.05). Statistical significance was noted for the presence of advanced stage lymph node metastasis (pelvic, paraaortic, pelvic and paraaortic), serosal involvement, positive cytology, lymph vascular space invasion, intra abdominal metastasis, and omentum involvement. When investigated the relation between cytoplasmic and nuclear survivin indexes and total survival, the result was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: In our study, there was no statistically significant relationship between the rates of cytoplasmic and nuclear survivin expression with identified prognostic factors and total or non-disease survival.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2015

CSF is a major concern for the swine industry, representing currently the most epizootically dangerous disease to the species. Numerous CSFV isolates with various degrees of virulence have already been isolated worldwide, ranging from low virulent strains that do not result in any apparent clinical signs to highly virulent strains that cause a severe per acute hemorrhagic fever with very high mortality. The molecular epidemiology of CSFVs has proven to be an essential tool for effective disease control and the development of safe and effective vaccines. Therefore, this study cloned and sequenced local CSFV isolates, and conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the E2 glycoprotein encoding sequences.The RNA was extracted from PK15 cell culture passaged CSFV isolates, the cDNA prepared, and the complete E2 gene amplified with a product size of 1186 bp. The gelpurified PCR product was cloned into a pGEMT easy vector and the positive clone commercially sequenced. Aligning the nucleotide (1119 bp) and amino acid (373) sequences with 29 reference strains revealed nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities of 82.60-97.80% and 88.70-98.70%, respectively, indicating a higher mutation rate of the field CSFV strains. The phylogenetic analysis based on the complete E2 amino acid sequences also revealed a reliable differentiation of all the analyzed strains into specific genetic groups and subgroups, plus the local isolate (CSFV-E2) was found to cluster with the CSFV subgroup 2.2. Thus, the full-length E2 cds proved to be most suitable for a reliable and statistically significant phylogenetic analysis of CSFV isolates.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.46-50
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• 2018

Cancer, a leading mortality disease following cardiovascular disease worldwide, has high incidence as one out of every four adults in Korea. It was known to be caused by several reasons including somatic mutation, activation of oncogene and chromosome aneuploidy. Cancer cells show a faster growth rate and have metastatic and heterogeneous cell populations compared to normal cells. Cancer stem cells, the most invested field in cancer biology, is a theory to explain heterogeneous cell populations of cancer cells among several characteristics of cancer cells, which is providing the theoretical background for incidence of cancer and treatment failure by drug resistance. Cancer stem cells initially explain heterogeneous cell populations of cancer cells based on the same markers of normal stem cells in cancer, in which only cancer stem cells showed heterogeneity of cancer cells and tumor initiating ability of leukemia. Based on these results, cancer stem cells were reported in various solid cancers such as breast cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer. Breast cancer stem cells were first reported in solid cancer which had tumor initiating ability and further identified as anti-cancer drug resistance. There were several identification methods in breast cancer stem cells such as specific surface markers and culture methods. The discovery of cancer stem cells not only explains heterogeneity of cancer cells, but it also provides theoretical background for targeting cancer stem cells to complete elimination of cancer cells. Many institutes have been developing new anticancer drugs targeting cancer stem cells, but there have not been noticeable results yet. Many researchers also reported a necessity for improvement of current concepts and methods of research on cancer stem cells. Herein, we discuss the limitations and the perspectives of breast cancer stem cells based on the current concept and history.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.21.1-21.7
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• 2019

Background: Lactococcus garvieae is one of the most important risk factors in the rainbow trout culture. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and detect strains isolated from rainbow trout suspected of having Lactococcus garvieae using biochemical characteristics and PCR and determination of the degree of severity of isolated strains. Methods: In this study, the cause of lactococcosis in selected rainbow trout farms in Kohkilooieh and Boyerahmad province was assayed. Gram-positive and catalase-negative bacterial isolates were first obtained from selected trout fish farms using conventional biochemical tests and PCR assay. The 10-day LD₅₀ method (concentration causing 50% mortality in 10 days) was used to determine the severity of the isolated bacteria. Results: One bacterial isolate was detected from all sampled fish which confirmed as Lactococcus garvieae using a specific PCR assay based on the 16S rDNA gene by producing a single band of 1107 bp. Analysis of the rate of mortality showed that the 10-day LD₅₀ was 4.6 × 10⁵ CFU/fish. The results of this study showed that isolated bacteria had high severity for rainbow trout. The presence of bacteria in internal organs of suspected fish showed a severe systemic infection in challenged fish. Antibiogram assay also indicated that the isolated Lactococcus garvieae were resistant to some mostly used antibiotics in rainbow trout. Conclusions: According to current research, it can be concluded that the condition of lactococcosis in the studied area is not suitable, and despite the presence of disease, there is no proper action to control and prevent the disease. Unfortunately, isolated bacteria from the studied area have a very high severity compared to bacteria isolated from other regions of the country or other countries. Therefore, further investigation is needed to determine the cause of this difference and possibly in the design of the vaccine.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.292-300
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• 2008

Background: Respiratory failure is a common condition that requires intensive care, and has a high mortality rate despite the recent improvements in respiratory care. Previous reports of patients with respiratory failure focused on the specific disease or included a large proportion of surgical patients. This study evaluated the clinical characteristics, outcomes and prognostic factors of adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation in a medical intensive care unit. Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed on 479 adult patients, who received mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours in the medical ICU of one tertiary referral hospital. Results: The mean age of the patients was $60.3{\pm}15.6$ years and 34.0% were female. The initial mean APACHE III score was $72.3{\pm}25$. The cause of MV included acute respiratory failure (71.8%), acute exacerbation of chronic pulmonary disease (20.9%), coma (5.6%), and neuromuscular disorders (1.7%). Pressure controlled ventilation was used as the initial ventilator mode in 67.8% of patients, and pressure support ventilation was used as the initial weaning mode in 83.6% of the patients. The overall mortality rate in the ICU and hospital was 49.3% and 55.4%, respectively. The main cause of death in hospital was septic shock (32.5%), respiratory failure (11.7%), and multiorgan failure (10.2%). Males, an APACHE III score >70, the cause of respiratory failure (interstitial lung disease, coma, aspiration, pneumonia, sepsis and hemoptysis), the total ventilation time, and length of stay in hospital were independently associated with mortality. Conclusion: The cause of respiratory failure, severity of the patients, and gender appears to be significantly associated with the outcome of mechanical ventilatory support in patients with respiratory failure.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.337-346
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• 2010

We report non-specific immune responses and disease resistance against Vibrio anguillarum, Streptococcus iniae and Edwardsiella tarda by dietary supplementation of fermented garlic powder (FGP) in olive flounder for the first time. Four isonitrogenous (45% crude protein) and isocaloric (17.1 MJ/kg) diets were formulated to have 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% of the FGP (G-0, G-0.5, G-1 and G-2). The experimental diets were fed to juvenile olive flounder averaging 23.4 g in triplicate groups (90 fish/group) in a flow-through system. After a five-week feeding trial, healthy fish with similar sizes from each tank were selected and injected with 1 ml of three bacteria each to evaluate disease resistance of the fish. During the 5-week feeding trial, the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, and survival of the fish were not significantly affected by the experimental diets. However, feed intake was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the fish fed the G-2 diet compared with the control group. Hemoglobin, myeloperoxidase activity, cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were not different between the dietary groups. However, hematocrit, nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) activity, and lysozyme activity were increased (P<0.05) with an increment of dietary FGP. Plasma triglyceride of the fish fed the G-0.5 diet was significantly lower than that of fish fed the control diet. The cumulative mortality was lower in the fish fed diets containing FGP compared with the control group in the challenge test except for the bacteria Edwardsiella tarda. The results in this study indicate that dietary supplementation of FGP can enhance the non-specific immune responses and disease resistance of olive flounder against V. anguillarum and S. iniae.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.478-484
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• 2018

Objective : Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) was the third most common cause of death in South Korea in 2014. Evidence from abroad suggests that comprehensive stroke centers play an important role in improving the mortality rate of stroke. However, surgical treatment for CVD is currently slightly neglected by national policy, and there is still regional imbalance in this regard. For this reason, we conducted a survey on the necessity of, and the requirements for, establishing regional comprehensive cerebrovascular surgery centers (CCVSCs). Methods : This investigation was performed using the questionnaire survey method. The questionnaire was consisted with two sections. The first concerned the respondent's opinion regarding the current status of demand and the regional imbalance of cerebrovascular surgery in South Korea. The second section asked about the requirements for establishing regional CCVSCs. We sent the questionnaire to 100 board members of the Korean Society of Cerebrovascular Surgeons. Results : Most experts agreed that cerebrovascular surgery patients were concentrated in large hospitals in the capital area, and 83.6% of respondents agreed that it was necessary to alleviate the regional imbalance of cerebrovascular surgery. With regards to personnel, over 90% of respondents answered that at least two neuro-vascular surgeons and two neuro-interventionists are necessary to establish a CCVSC. Regarding facilities, almost all respondents stated that each CCVSC would require a neuro-intensive care unit and hybrid operating room. The survey asked the respondents about 13 specific neurovascular surgical procedures and whether they were necessary for a regional CCVSC. In the questions about the necessity of cerebrovascular surgical equipment, all seven pieces of equipment were considered essential by all respondents. A further five pieces of equipment were considered necessary on site: computed tomographic angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, conventional angiography, surgical microscope, and surgical navigation. Our results may provide a basis for future policy regarding treatment of cerebrovascular disease, including surgery. Conclusion : Raising the comprehensiveness of treatment at a regional level would lower the national disease burden. Policies should be drafted regarding comprehensive treatment including surgery for cerebrovascular disease, and related support plans should be implemented.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2005-2017
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• 2007

Diabetic nephropathy remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population and is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure. Despite current therapeutics including intensified glycemic control and blood pressure lowering agents, renal disease continues to progress relentlessly in diabetic patients, albeit at a lower rate. Since synthetic drugs for diabetes are known to have side effects, fungal mushrooms as a natural product come into preventing the development of diabetes. Our previous report showed the hypoglycemic effect of extracellular fungal polysaccharides (EPS) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. In this study, we analyzed the differential expression patterns of rat kidney proteins from normal, STZ-induced diabetic, and EPS-treated diabetic rats, to discover diabetes-associated proteins in rat kidney. The results of proteomic analysis revealed that up to 500 protein spots were visualized, of which 291 spots were differentially expressed in the three experimental groups. Eventually, 51 spots were statistically significant and were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting. Among the differentially expressed renal proteins, 10 were increased and 16 were decreased significantly in diabetic rat kidney. The levels of different proteins, altered after diabetes induction, were returned to approximately those of the healthy rats by EPS treatment. A histopathological examination showed that EPS administration restored the impaired kidney to almost normal architecture. The study of protein expression in the normal and diabetic kidney tissues enabled us to find several diabetic nephropathy-specific proteins, such as phospholipids scramblase 3 and tropomyosin 3, which have not been mentioned yet in connection with diabetes.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.224-226
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• 2013

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is characterized by a severe idiosyncratic reaction including rash and fever, often with associated hepatitis, arthralgias, lymph node enlargement, or hematologic abnormalities. The mortality rate is approximately 10%, primarily owing to liver failure with massive or multiple disseminated focal necrosis. Here, we report a case of a 14-year-old girl treated with vancomycin because of a wound infection by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, who presented with non-specific symptoms, which progressed to acute liver failure, displaying the hallmarks of DRESS syndrome. With the presence of aggravated hepatic encephalopathy and azotemia, the patient was refractory to medical treatments, she received a living-donor liver transplantation, and a cure was achieved without any sign of recurrence. Vancomycin can be a cause of DRESS syndrome. A high index of suspicion and rapid diagnosis are necessary not to miss this potentially lethal disease.