Efficacy of a novel channel-cleaning ball brush for endoscope reprocessing: a randomized controlled trial.

Background/aims: Endoscopic channels are difficult to clean and can cause infection transmission. We examined the effectiveness of a newly developed channel-cleaning ball brush (BB), which is sucked into the endoscopic channel and scrapes and cleans the lumen as it passes through.

Methods: The upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopes used for patient examinations were randomly selected as the conventional brush (CB) or BB group.

Identification of 8-Digit HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 Allele and Haplotype Frequencies in Koreans Using the One Lambda AllType Next-Generation Sequencing Kit.

Background: Recent studies have successfully implemented next-generation sequencing (NGS) in HLA typing. We performed HLA NGS in a Korean population to estimate HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies up to an 8-digit resolution, which might be useful for an extended application of HLA results.

Methods: A total of 128 samples collected from healthy unrelated Korean adults, previously subjected to Sanger sequencing for 6-digit HLA analysis, were used.

9G Test Cancer/Lung: A Desirable Companion to LDCT for Lung Cancer Screening.

A complimentary biomarker test that can be used in combination with LDCT for lung cancer screening is highly desirable to improve the diagnostic capacity of LDCT and reduce the false-positive rates. Most importantly, the stage I lung cancer detection rate can be dramatically increased by the simultaneous use of a biomarker test with LDCT. The present study was conducted to evaluate 9G test Cancer/Lung's sensitivity and specificity in detecting Stage 0~IV lung cancer.

Clinical Characteristics of Enterocolitis in Korean Adults: A Retrospective Study at a Single Center.

Background/aims: Although the diarrheal disease caused by has been continuously increasing in Korea, there has been limited study on the clinical aspects of enteritis in adults in Korea. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical features and characteristics of adult patients with enteritis.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with enterocolitis at Nowon Eulji University Hopsital between January 2016 and December 2017.

Analysis of Methylation in Bowel Lavage Fluid for the Detection of Colorectal Neoplasm.

Background/aims: methylation was previously reported as a sensitive serologic biomarker for the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether methylation is detectable in precancerous lesions and to determine the feasibility of using methylation for the detection of CRC and precancerous lesions in bowel lavage fluid (BLF).

Methods: A total of 190 BLF samples were collected from the rectum at the beginning of colonoscopy from patients with colorectal neoplasm and healthy normal individuals.

Antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of analogues derived from the antimicrobial peptide mBjAMP1 isolated from Branchiostoma japonicum.

Objectives: The worldwide increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing threat to public health. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potentially effective alternatives to conventional antibiotics. We therefore tested analogues of the AMP mBjAMP1 from Branchiostoma japonicum, which we produced by adding and/or replacing amino acids to increase antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria.

Vitamin D Status and Its Association with the SCORAD Score and Serum LL-37 Level in Korean Adults and Children with Atopic Dermatitis.

Background: Vitamin D insufficiency could be associated with the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD).

Objective: To examine vitamin D status and the relations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, SCORAD score, serum LL-37 level, and body mass index (BMI) in Korean AD patients, and to explore whether these associations differ between adults and children.

Methods: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, serum LL-37, and clinical features were analyzed in a total of 72 Korean patients with AD (39 adults and 33 children) and 140 healthy control subjects (70 adults and 70 children).

Synergistic effects and antibiofilm properties of chimeric peptides against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains.

The increasing prevalence of drug-resistant pathogens highlights the need to identify novel antibiotics. Here we investigated the efficacies of four new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for potential drug development. The antibacterial activities, synergistic effects, and antibiofilm properties of the four chimeric AMPs were tested against Acinetobacter baumannii, an emerging Gram-negative, nosocomial, drug-resistant pathogen.

A case of cholesterosis bulbi with secondary glaucoma treated by vitrectomy and intravitreal bevacizumab.

We report on a case of cholesterosis bulbi concurrent with secondary glaucoma. A 36-year-old man, with a history of long-standing retinal detachment in his right eye after the irrigation and aspiration of a congenital cataract, presented with a clinical picture of elevated intraocular pressure and ocular pain. Upon slit-lamp examination, we found a ciliary injection and a pseudohypopyon of polychromatic crystals.

[The prevalence of Yersinia infection in adult patients with acute right lower quadrant pain].

Background/aims: Clinical manifestations of intestinal yersiniosis include enterocolitis, mesenteric adenitis, and terminal ileitis presenting with fever, right lower quadrant pain, and leukocytosis. According to a previous Korean study in 1997, Yersinia was revealed in two among 15 adult patients with mesenteric adenitis (13%). However, recent reports on the prevalence of Yersinia infection in adult patients are few.

Changing molecular epidemiology of group B streptococcus in Korea.

The prevalence of group B streptococcus (GBS) among pregnant women and disease burdens in neonates and adults are increasing in Korea. Colonizing isolates, collected by screening pregnant women (n=196), and clinical isolates collected from clinical patients throughout Korea (n=234), were serotyped and screened for antibiotic resistance. Serotype III (29.

[Comparison of the efficacies of silver-containing dressing materials for treating a full-thickness rodent wound infected by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus].

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may cause infections during wound dressing. We aimed to compare the antibacterial activities and wound-healing effects of commercially available silver-coated or silver-impregnated wound dressings on MRSA-infected wounds.

Methods: Full-thickness skin defects were made on the back of rats (N=108) and were infected with MRSA.

Association between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and peripheral bacterial DNA in cirrhotic patients.

Background: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is regarded as the major risk factor of bacterial translocation. Few studies have investigated the direct relation between SIBO and translocation in cirrhotic patients. The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between SIBO and bacterial DNA in the peripheral blood of patients with cirrhosis.

Aquaporin-2 urinary excretion in cirrhosis: relationship to vasopressin and nitric oxide.

The aquaporin (AQP) water channel plays an important role in the regulation of water. AQP2 is expressed in the collection duct of the kidney, serving as the final channel that helps to regulate water excretion in the kidneys and affecting the regulation of water and hyponatremia in cirrhotic patients. So far, research on aquaporin expression in cirrhosis has had various results.

[A case of a Korean adult affected by type B Niemann-Pick disease: secondary sea-blue histiocytosis and molecular characterization].

Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme acid sphingomyelinase coded by SMPD1 gene. In contrast with type A NPD, a severe neurodegenerative disease of infancy, type B NPD patients have little or no neurodegeneration, and frequently survive into adulthood. Although over 100 mutations have been found within the SMPD1 gene causing NPD, there was only one report about SMPD1 mutation status of a Korean NPD patient.

Polymorphisms of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein gene and phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Koreans.

Background: The pathogenesis of fatty liver is likely to depend on a complex interaction of environmental and genetic factors. We investigated a large-scale analysis of the association between microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) and phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) polymorphism in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Methods: Five hundred and eighty-eight patients who visited the health promotion center were enrolled.

Natural polymorphisms of protease in protease inhibitor-naive HIV-1 infected patients in Korea: a novel L63M in subtype B.

To establish a baseline for monitoring resistance mutation to protease inhibitors (PI), we determined protease(PR) sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 43 PI-naive Korean HIV-1 infected patients. Interestingly, phylogenetic analysis revealed that 41 of the sequences belonged to subtype B, one belonged to subtype A, and one was unique, not clustering with any subtype. Thirty-one (76%) of the 41 sub-type B sequences formed a subclade within subtype B, a so-called "Korean B cluster.