• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2015

To provide guidelines for the empirical treatment of urinary tract infections, we observed annual changes in the occurrence frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility of urinary isolates in a university hospital in the Chungbuk province, South Korea, over a period of 10 years (2004~2013). Escherichia coli (38.2%), Enterococcus faecalis (11.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.3%), E. faecium (4.3%), and Staphylococcus aureus (4.1%) were commonly isolated urinary pathogens. The prevalence of E. coli, E. faecium and Streptococcus agalactiae were significantly higher in females (P < 0.001), whereas E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were significantly more common in male patients (P < 0.001). E. coli mostly frequently showed resistance to ampicillin (67.94%), followed by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (36.06%) and ciprofloxacin (26.84%). Over the studied time period, resistance rates of E. coli to ciprofloxacin significantly increased (20.44% to 33.55%). Moreover, extended-spectrum $\beta$-lactamase (ESBL) producing isolates also significantly increased in E. coli (4.2% to 18.3%) and K. pneumoniae (9.6% to 26.9%). In addition, the proportion of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus facium (VRE) also increased (15.7% to 25.0%). In conclusion, over the last 10 years, the proportions of ciprofloxacin resistant E. coli and multidrug-resistant bacteria, such as ESBL and VRE have significantly increased. This trend must be strictly controlled and demonstrates the need for more updated guidelines for the treatment of urinary tract infections.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.19 no.1 s.92
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• pp.31-36
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• 2007

There are several factors in the degradation of textiles. The crucial factors in textile weakening are humidity, dust, smoke, sunlight, microorganisms and so on. Especially silk fabrics are more susceptible to microorganisms than other fabrics, because they are mainly consisted of proteins. In this study, we investigated the activities for degrading casein and silk fibers with 2 strains, Bacillus cereus TX1 and Pseudomonas fluorescens TX 2, isolated from domestic museums. They were compared to those of standard control strains, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, usually used for the antibiotic test of fabrics. The caseinolytic activities of K. pneumoniae and S. aureus were higher than those of isolated strains. But in the cases of silk fiber degrading, B. cereus TX 1 showed the highest activity on both silk 1 and silk 2. Therefore, caseinolytic activities were not coincident with the activity to degrade silk fibers. All strains degraded silk 1(strength retention 100%) better than silk 2(strength retention 50%). It means that bacteria mainly participate in the early stage of degrading silk fabrics, but as time goes by, the importance of bacteria for degrading silk fabrics would decreased. Even though the importance of bacteria may decrease, controlling bacterial activity is necessary to preserve historic silk fabrics.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.192-200
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• 2006

Purpose : This study was performed to identify longitudinal changes in the prevalence of organisms isolated from urinary tract infection(UTI) and in the pattern of Escherichia coli susceptibility to antibiotics during the past 10 years in children with UTI. Methods : We performed a retrospective study of a total of 192 urine cultures from children with UTI in the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul Adventist Hospital over two periods(1st: 1995-2000, 2nd:2001-2005). Antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was compared between the two groups. Results : The pathogens of UTI in the two groups were similar. In the first period, E. coli was the leading uropathogen(66.2%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae(7.8%), Enterobacter cloacae(6.5%), and others(19.5%). In the second period, E. coli was the leading uropathogen(67%) followed by K. pneumoniae(12.2%), E. cloacae(3.5%), Enterobacter aerogenes(3.5%), and others(13.8%). The susceptibility pattern of E. coli to amoxicillin/clavulanate(87.5%, 81.0%) did not present any statistically significant difference between the two periods(P>0.05). The susceptibility of E. coli to TMP/SMX(52.4%, 50.0%) was still low with no significant difference between the two periods(P>0.05). Conclusion : Our results suggest that the use of amoxicillin/clavulanate is still an excellent therapeutic option in children with UTI. The low rate of susceptibility to TMP/SMX against uropathogens suggest that TMP/SMX may be reevaluated as the first-line therapeutic drug for UTI.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2014

Periodic analysis of local epidemiologic data of prevalent pathogens of blood culture can provide clinicians with relevant information to guide empirical antibiotic therapy. In this study, we analyzed a pattern of change of causative microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance at a tertiary medical center in Chungcheong province from 2003 to 2012, retrospectively. Of 70,258 blood specimens cultured, 6,063 (8.6%) were positive. Among the positive isolates, 95.9% were aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria, 0.1% were anaerobes, and 3.9% were fungi. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (32.9%), Escherichia coli (16.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.4%), and ${\alpha}$-hemolytic Streptococcus (5.9%) were commonly isolated bacteria, and Candida albicans (1.4%) was the most commonly isolated fungi. Enterococcus faecium progressively increased but Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Proteus species gradually decreased over a period of 10 years. The multidrug-resistant microorganisms such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), cefotaxime-resistant E. coli, imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (IRPA) and imipenem-resistant A. baumannii (IRAB), were significantly increased. Therefore, there is a need for a more strict control of antibiotics and a more updated guideline for the treatment of bloodstream infection.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1984

The present study was undertaken to elucidate the antibacterial spectrum of L. casei phage type $J_1$ strain isolated from a fermented milk product against pathogenic enteric bacteria. Growth inhibitory effects and minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) of culture supernatants of L. casei grown in MRS broth were measured by both plate culture method and microplate broth dilution technique against Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae, enterpathogenic E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The MRS broth culture of L. casei gave a similar extent of growth inhibitory effects against S. typhi, S. typhimurium, S. flexneri, S. dysenteriae, E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa, respectively. 2. The inhibitory effects of L. casei culture were observed either in whole broth culture or in culture supernatant, but neither the bacterial suspension nor the neutralized culture supernatant showed such as antibacterial activities. 3. The MIC titres of the culture supernatants were ${\log_2}5$ to ${\log_2}6$, whereas those of the neutralized culture supernatant dropped markdely to ${\log_2}2$ to ${\log_2}3$. These results indicated that major portion of growth inhibitory effects of MRS broth culture of L. casei against enteric bacterial pathogens was possibly due to the acids produced, and minor portion to other antibacterial substances.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.307-312
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• 2014

Fecal coliform bacteria are indicators of fecal contamination and of the potential presence of pathogens associated with animal excreta, wastewater, sludge. This study examined the distribution of fecal coliform in sand of the playground at educational facilities and parks in Seoul. Fecal coliform were detected from 61 (22.1%) places out of 276 playgrounds. Escherichia (E) coli (75.4%) was found most frequently, followed by Cronobacter (Cro) sakazakii (8.7%), Klebsiella (K) pneumoniae (7.2%) and Actinobacter baumannii (4.3%). We also tested the bacteria for their susceptibility to 16 antibiotics using disk diffusion method. All the isolates were highly susceptible to cefepime, gentamicin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, nalidixic acid and sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim, but resistant to apramycin and cephalothin. E. coli and Cro. sakazakii were highly resistant to apramycin (100% and 83.3%), followed by cephalothin (51.9% and 50%) and ampicillin (19.2% and 16.7%). K. pneumoniae was highly resistant to ampicillin and apramycin (100%, respectively) but the remaining antibiotics were susceptible.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 1996

The in vitro activity of LB20304 was evaluated against clinical isolates and compared with those of Q-35, ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, lomefloxacin and ofloxacin. LB20304 demonstrated 16-to 64-fold more potent activity than ciprofloxacin against gram-positive bacteria. LB20304 inhibited 90% of the isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus(MSSA) at a concentration of $0.016\mug/ml\; (MIC_{90}). MIC_{90}$ values of LB20304 against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis (MSSE), methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) and Streptococcus pneumoniae were $2\mug/ml,\; 0.016\mug/ml,\; 0.5\mug/ml \;and\; 0.031\mug/ml,$ respectively. LB20304 was also very active against gram-negative bacteria. Against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, $MIC_{90}s of\; LB20304 were\; 0.031\mug/ml,\; 0.25\mug/ml,\; 2\mug/ml,\; 8\mug/ml\; and\; 0.5\mug/ml$, respectively. Its activity was comparable to that of ciprofloxacin but much better than those of Q-35, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin and lomefloxacin. LB20304 also exhibited the most potent acitvity among quinolones tested against laboratory standard strains, ofloxacin-resistant strains, .betha.-lactamase-producing strains and anaerobic strains. The inhibitory effect$ (IC_{50)$ of LB20304 on DNA gyrase from Micrococcus luteus, determined by the supercoiling assay, was 8-fold more potent than that of ciprofloxacin. LB20304 did not induce topoisomerase-associated DNA cleavage even at a concentration of 10 mg/ml, although ciprofloxacin induced DNA cleavage at a concentration of 1 mg/ml.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2008

Purpose : To set up an appropriate treatment plan for neonatal sepsis by investigating changes in pathogens and antibiotic sensitivities. Methods : The medical records of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Eulji University Hospital between January 2000 and June 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. The culture reports were analyzed for causative microorganisms and antibiotic sensitivities. Results : Among 164 neonates, 19 neonates (11.6%) had 26 episodes of culture-proven sepsis. Very late onset sepsis was the most common type. The dominant pathogens of sepsis included Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus spp., coagulase negative Staphylococcus and Enterobacter spp., and were mostly multi-drug resistant. Conclusion : For the appropriate treatment of neonatal sepsis, proper use of antibiotics through the periodic review and understanding of changes of the microorganisms and antimicrobial sensitivities is necessary to prevent multi-drug resistant microorganisms and to avoid excessive use of broad-spectrum empiric antibiotics.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-46
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• 2007

Purpose : Neonatal bacterial meningitis has been known that its mortality and morbidity is high and its neurologic complications are common. This study was performed to review of the etiology of neonatal bacterial meningitis in Busan, Korea. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed 21 medical records of patients who were diagnosed neonatal bacterial meningitis in four university hospitals in Busan from January 1997 to December 2005. We analyzed age at onset of symptoms, symptoms at admission, causative organisms, and complications. Results : There were 11 male patients and 10 female patients. One premature neonate was included. 7 patients had symptoms at 2-3 weeks after birth and 6 patients at 1-2 weeks after birth. 18 cases had fever, 8 cases had seizure and some had poor feeding, lethargy and irritability. The most common organism causing neonatal bacterial meningitis was Group B streptococcus (GBS). 11 cases were due to GBS, 3 cases due to E. coli, 3 cases were due to Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 2 cases due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. one Listeria monocytogenes and one Enterobacter cloacae were included. 18 patients were alive and 3 patients died. Mental retardation, developmental delay and epilepsy occurred in a living patient. Conclusions : Although this was a retrospective study, we found that Group B streptococcus (GBS) was the most common organism causing neonatal bacterial meningitis and this data is nearly same as others in the world.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.167-177
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• 2003

Purpose : To know the trends of antimicrobial susceptibility is critical for antimicrobial treatment. We studied the organisms isolated from blood, urine, stool, and cerebrospinal fluid from 1997 to 2001 to reveal the trends of their antimicrobial susceptibility. Methods : We conducted a retrospective study with isolates obtained from 0~18 year old outpatients and inpatients from 1997 to 2001 at Department of Pediatrics, Hanil general hospital. We gathered the data through the laboratory test files and the origin of microorganisms cultured from blood, urine, stool and cerebrospinal fluid and their antimicrobial susceptibility. Results : Microorganisms were isolated from 226(3.3%) out of 6,974 blood cultures, 365 (8.0%) out of 4,549 urine cultures, 50(1.9%) out of 2,593 stool cultures and 9(1.4%) in 655 cerebrospinal fluid cultures. The most frequently isolated organisms from blood cultures was Staphylococcus epidermidis(33.5%) which was followed by Staphylococcus aureus(19.7%), Escherichia coli(13.8%), and Burkholderia cepacia(9.0%). Among the urine cultures, E. coli was the most common(74.7%) which was followed by Group D Enterococcus(11.3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae(7.1%) and Proteus mirabilis(2.5%). The positive stool cultures all yield Salmonella species. Group D Salmonella was obtained most frequently. Among the positive cerebrospinal fluid cultures, Group B Streptococcus was isolated most frequently. Among the 40 cases of S. aureus in blood cultures, 27 cases were methicillin-resistant. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of E. coli isolated from blood cultures were 80%, 100% and 60% in 1997 and 60%, 80% and 60% in 2001. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of K. pnumoniae isolated from urine cultures. were 80%, 100% and 80% in 1997 and 50%, 83% and 50% in 2001 Enterococcus was isolated from 6.7% to 15.8% and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus was observed in 17% of Group D Enterococcus isolated from urine cultures. The rates of susceptibility for amikacin, ceftizoxime and ceftriaxone of Group D Salmonella were 96%, 96% and 92% during the study period. Conclusion : Among the blood cultures S. epidermidis, S. aureus, E. coli and B. cepacia were isolated in order of frequency and among the urine cultures E. coli, Group D Enterococcus, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis were isolated in order of frequency. During the study period there was no big difference in major organisms isolated from blood and urine. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus was observed in 67% of S. aureus isolated from blood cultures but vancomycin-reistant S. aureus or vancomycin intermediate resistant S. aureus was not observed. The rates of susceptibility to amikacin and the third generation cephalosporin of E. coli isolated from blood cultures and K. pneumoniae from urine cultures have decreased. The isolation rates of Group D Enterococcus and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus have increased.