Palaearctic species of the genus Bouček, 1956 are reviewed. Twelve Palaearctic species are recognized based on females, of which eight new species are described: Tselikh, Lee & Ku, (Republic of Korea), Tselikh, Lee & Ku, (Republic of Korea), Tselikh, Haas & Ku, (Republic of Korea, Sweden), Tselikh, Lee & Ku, (Republic of Korea), Tselikh, Lee & Ku, (Republic of Korea), Tselikh, Lee & Ku, (Republic of Korea), Tselikh, Haas & Ku, (Germany, Japan, Sweden), and Tselikh, Haas & Ku, (Russia, Republic of Korea, Sweden). The female of Bouček, 1956 is described for the first time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF, or group B streptococcus (GBS), is a Gram-positive pathogen with an extended track record of colonization in the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. GBS can induce disease in individuals across all age demographics, yet it predominantly triggers infections in neonates and the elderly. Identification of the serotype is vital for effective management of the disease as it provides critical information for clinicians on the cause of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLow-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), derived from unfractionated heparin (UFH), has enhanced anticoagulant efficacy, long duration of action, and extended half-life. Patients receiving LMWH for preventive therapies would strongly benefit from its long-term effects, however, achieving this is challenging. Here, we design and evaluate a nanoengineered LMWH and octadecylamine conjugate (LMHO) that can act for a long time while maintaining close to 97 ± 3% of LMWH activity via end-specific conjugation of the reducing end of LMWH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe escalation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to the excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobials has prompted the urgent need for more rapid and effective antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods. Conventional AST techniques often take 16-24 h, leading to empirical prescription practices and the potential emergence of AMR. The study aimed to develop a rapid disk diffusion (RDD) method utilizing laser speckle formation (LSF) technology to expedite AST results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 42-year-old man was admitted to the emergency room complaining of fever and headache. His cerebrospinal fluid showed a cloudy appearance, and his white blood cell count was elevated at 2460/mm, with a predominance of neutrophils (81%), and abnormal protein and glucose levels (510.7 mg/dL and 5 mg/dL, respectively).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn cancer therapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted significant attention due to its high potential for tumor-selective treatment. However, PDT agents often exhibit poor physicochemical properties, including solubility, necessitating the development of nanoformulations. In this study, we developed two cationic peptide-based self-assembled nanomaterials by using a PDT agent, chlorin e6 (Ce6).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The timely identification of microbial pathogens is essential to guide targeted antimicrobial therapy and ultimately, successful treatment of an infection. However, the yield of standard microbiology testing (SMT) is directly related to the duration of antecedent antimicrobial therapy as SMT culture methods are dependent on the recovery of viable organisms, the fastidious nature of certain pathogens, and other pre-analytic factors. In the last decade, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has been successfully utilized as a diagnostic tool for various applications within the clinical laboratory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: can cause a wide range of infections. Hypervirulent (hvKp), particularly associated with the K1 and K2 capsular types, is an increasingly significant microorganism with the potential to cause invasive infections, including renal abscesses. Despite the rising prevalence of hvKp infections, information on renal abscesses caused by is limited, and the clinical significance of hvKp associated with specific virulence genes remains elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmallholder households in developing countries often face challenges related to market access. Despite being proposed as a potential solution, cooperatives in the north of Benin have reportedly failed to effectively address this issue. The alternatives channels used by smallholder famers and the factors that influence their choices remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe four morphologically similar genera Huang & Tong, 1993, Xiao & Ye, 2015, Hedqvist, 1973 and Ferrière, 1934 from the Eastern Palaearctic are reviewed. Redescriptions of genera and all available types of Eastern Palaearctic species are provided. An identification key to genera is given.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPalaearctic species of the genus Girault, 1915 are reviewed. from South Korea and from Japan are described. Type material of (Masi) and (Kamijo) is redescribed and illustrated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeparin is a glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) member and well-known FDA-approved anticoagulant that has been widely used in the clinic for 100 years. It has also been evaluated in various fields for further clinical applications, such as in anti-cancer or anti-inflammatory therapy beyond its anticoagulant effect. Here, we sought to utilize heparin molecules as drug carriers by directly conjugating the anticancer drug doxorubicin to the carboxyl group of unfractionated heparin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: There are reports of false qualitative HBsAg results, because of various causes, such as samples with low HBsAg concentrations that may produce false positives. The main aims of this study were to validate the analytical accuracy and to assess the utility of the Elecsys assay compared to that of the qualitative HbsAg assay as a screening test in resolving equivocal qualitative HbsAg results. The limit of blank (LoB), the limit of detection (LoD), the limit of quantification (LoQ), and linearity were estimated to validate the analytical accuracy of the Elecsys HBsAg II Quant assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynthetic aperture radar (SAR), which can generate images of regions or objects, is an important research area of radar. The chirp scaling algorithm (CSA) is a representative SAR imaging algorithm. The CSA has a simple structure comprising phase compensation and fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations by replacing interpolation for range cell migration correction (RCMC) with phase compensation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Due to the extreme infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, sample-to-answer SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are urgently needed in order to facilitate infectious disease surveillance and control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate three sample-to-answer SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays—BioFire COVID-19 Test, BioFire RP 2.1, and Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2—using clinical samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in Asia/Pacific are a particular threat to patients with malignancies, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or undiagnosed/untreated human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Adequate and early access to diagnostic tools and antifungals is essential for IFI clinical management and patient survival.
Methods: Details on institution profile, self-perception on IFI, and access to microscopy, culture, serology, antigen detection, molecular testing, and therapeutic drug monitoring for IFI were collected in a survey.
Red cell pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is the most common cause of hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia and the most frequent enzyme abnormality of the glycolytic pathway. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Korean PK deficiency study that analyzes copy number variation (CNV) using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A 7-year-old girl with jaundice was admitted for evaluation of a persistent hemolytic anemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Klebsiella pneumoniae is rare but the second most common causative agent among gram-negative bacteria that cause pyogenic spondylitis. However, there are no available studies on the serotype, virulence factors, and clinical characteristics associated with K. pneumoniae-caused pyogenic spondylitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn immunocompetent 49-year-old man presented with swelling and pain in the lower region of his left leg that had lasted for 4 weeks. The diagnosis was severe pyomyositis and osteomyelitis in the lower left leg caused by hypervirulent (hvKP) along with multiple metastatic infections in the kidneys, lungs, and brain originating from an anorectal abscess. A virulence-gene analysis revealed that the isolated harbored , , , , , , and -virulence genes and belonged to the K1 capsular serotype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is ongoing, monkeypox has been rapidly spreading in non-endemic countries since May 2022. Accurate and rapid laboratory tests are essential for identifying and controlling monkeypox. Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine and the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency have proposed guidelines for diagnosing monkeypox in clinical laboratories in Korea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDi-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), a well-known endocrine disruptor, causes male reproductive dysfunction. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we performed histological, endocrinological, and biochemical analyses and assessed the expression of genes involved in spermatogenesis and sperm function according to OECD test guideline 407. Following 28 days of administration of the lowest observed adverse effect level dose of DBP to mice, no significant changes in body weight, testis and epididymis weights and histology, serum testosterone level, or testicular daily sperm production were found.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: is a serious pathogen causing various infections in humans. We evaluated the serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of causing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) after introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)13 in Korea and investigated the epidemiological characteristics of multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates.
Methods: isolates causing IPD were collected from 16 hospitals in Korea between 2017 and 2019.