Etiology and Outcomes of Patients with Extreme Hyperbilirubinemia in Korea: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background/aim: Extreme hyperbilirubinemia is occasionally observed in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU settings. This study examined the etiologies of extreme hyperbilirubinemia (bilirubin level ≥12 mg/dL) and the factors associated with the 30-day mortality.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study identified 439 patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia at the Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital between 2016 and 2020.

Two Cases of Severe Complications Due to an Esophageal Fish Bone Foreign Body.

Cases of foreign body ingestion are encountered relatively often in clinical settings; however, serious complications are rare. In such cases, mediastinal abscess due to esophageal perforation can become a life-threatening complication. We encountered two cases of severe complications due to an esophageal fish bone foreign body.

Case report of laryngeal infection by Clinostomum complanatum 24 days after ingestion of raw fish.

Rationale: Clinostomum complanatum is a laryngeal fluke whose hosts include birds and mammals.[1] In humans, infection occurs accidentally during the consumption of raw freshwater fish.[1,2].

Association of the etiology and peak level of markedly elevated aminotransferases with mortality: a multicenter study.

Background: Markedly elevated aminotransferase levels are commonly encountered among hospitalized patients. However, data regarding the trajectory of enzyme elevation and disease-specific prognosis are limited.

Methods: This study included 3237 patients with at least one episode of aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase level being higher than 400 U/L between January 2010 and December 2019 at 2 centers.

Markedly Elevated Aspartate Aminotransferase from Non-Hepatic Causes.

There have been no reports on mortality in patients with markedly elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels from non-hepatic causes to date. This study aimed to determine the etiologies of markedly elevated AST levels > 400 U/L due to non-hepatic causes and to investigate the factors associated with mortality in these cases. This retrospective study included 430 patients with AST levels > 400 U/L unrelated to liver disease at two centers between January 2010 and December 2021.

Endophytic pf185 Persists after Spraying and Controls (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and (Glomerellales: Glomerellaceae) in Pepper.

This study endeavored to sustainably control aphids and anthracnose after spraying endophytic pf185 under field conditions. Under two different tents; one batch of seedlings was sprayed with a 10 conidia/mL pf185 suspension; while another was sprayed with 0.05% Tween 80 in distilled water.

Biological Control of Gom-chwi () Phytophthora Root Rot with ObRS-5 to Suppress Zoosporangia Formation and Zoospores Germination.

Gom-chwi () is severely infected with , the causal organism of Phytophthora root rot, an economically important crop disease that needs management throughout the cultivation period. In the present study, Phytophthora root rot was controlled by using bacterial isolates from rhizosphere soils collected from various plants and screened for antagonistic activity against . A total of 172 bacterial strains were isolated, of which, 49 strains showed antagonistic activities by dual culture assay.

Dual Biocontrol Potential of the Entomopathogenic Fungus, , for Both Aphids and Plant Fungal Pathogens.

Dual biocontrol of both insects and plant pathogens has been reported for certain fungal entomopathogens, including and spp. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the dual biocontrol potential of two fungal isolates identified by morphological and phylogenetic analyses as . Both these isolates caused mortality in the greater wax moth, and hence can be considered entomopathogens.

Dibutyl succinate, produced by an insect-pathogenic fungus, Isaria javanica pf185, is a metabolite that controls of aphids and a fungal disease, anthracnose.

Background: An entomopathogenic fungus, Isaria javanica pf185, causes mortality in nymphs of the green peach aphid and inhibits the growth of fungal plant pathogens. However, the metabolites of pf185 involved in these antifungal and aphicidal activities are unknown. This study was performed to identify the metabolites with these activities.

Cryptophyte gene regulation in the kleptoplastidic, karyokleptic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum.

Photosynthesis in the ciliate Mesodinium rubrum is achieved using a consortium of cryptophyte algal organelles enclosed in its specialized vacuole. A time-series microarray analysis was conducted on the photosynthetic ciliate using an oligochip containing 15,654 primers designed from EST data of the cryptophyte prey, Teleaulax amphioxeia. The cryptophycean nuclei were transcriptionally active over 13 weeks and approximately 13.

Diallyl disulfide attenuates acetaminophen-induced renal injury in rats.

This study investigated the protective effects of diallyl disulfide (DADS) against acetaminophen (AAP)-induced acute renal injury in male rats. We also investigated the effects of DADS on kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), which are novel biomarkers of nephrotoxicity in renal tissues, in response to AAP treatment. The following four experimental groups were evaluated: (1) vehicle control, (2) AAP (1,000 mg/kg), (3) AAP&DADS, and (4) DADS (50 mg/kg/day).

Virulence of Entomopathogenic Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus for the Microbial Control of Spodoptera exigua.

The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is difficult to control using chemical insecticides because of the development of insecticide resistance. Several pest control agents are used to control the beet armyworm. Entomopathogenic fungi are one of the candidates for eco-friendly pest control instead of chemical control agents.

Influence of Additives on the Yield and Pathogenicity of Conidia Produced by Solid State Cultivation of an Isaria javanica Isolate.

Recently, the Q biotype of tobacco whitefly has been recognized as the most hazardous strain of Bemisia tabaci worldwide, because of its increased resistance to some insecticide groups. As an alternative control agent, we selected an Isaria javanica isolate as a candidate for the development of a mycopesticide against the Q biotype of sweet potato whitefly. To select optimal mass production media for solid-state fermentation, we compared the production yield and virulence of conidia between 2 substrates (barley and brown rice), and we also compared the effects of various additives on conidia production and virulence.

Spirosoma radiotolerans sp. nov., a gamma-radiation-resistant bacterium isolated from gamma ray-irradiated soil.

A Gram-negative, short-rod-shaped bacterial strain with gliding motility, designated as DG5A(T), was isolated from a rice field soil in South Korea. Phylogenic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequence of the new isolate showed that strain DG5A(T) belong to the genus Spirosoma in the family Spirosomaceae, and the highest sequence similarities were 95.5 % with Spirosoma linguale DSM 74(T), 93.

Biological Control of Aphid Using Fungal Culture and Culture Filtrates of Beauveria bassiana.

Aphids are one of the most destructive pests in crop production such as pepper, cucumber, and eggplants. The importance of entomopathogenic fungi as alternative pest control agents is increasing. Conidia of entomopathogenic fungi are influenced by environmental conditions, such as temperature and relative humidity, and cause slow and fluctuating mortality.

Assessing the guest-accessible volume in MOFs using two-photon fluorescence microscopy.

The assessment of guest-accessible volume in MOFs can be reliably done by using two-photon confocal fluorescence microscopy (TPM) with a tool-box of dyes with a wide range of sizes. It would be applicable to any porous materials, whose single-crystal structures are not available, or non-crystalline materials.

Dual-color imaging of magnesium/calcium ion activities with two-photon fluorescent probes.

We report two-photon probes (FMg1 and FMg2) that can selectively detect intracellular free Mg(2+) ([Mg(2+)](i)) in live cells and tissues by two-photon microscopy. Combined with BCaM, a two-photon probe for near-membrane Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](m)), FMg2 allows dual-color imaging of Mg(2+)/Ca(2+) activities in live cells and [Mg(2+)](i) /[Ca(2+)](m) distributions in live tissues at a depth of 100-200 μm.

A small-molecule two-photon probe for nitric oxide in living tissues.

Two-photon microscopy (TPM) has become an indispensable tool in the study of biology and medicine due to the capability of this method for molecular imaging deep inside intact tissues. For the maximum utilization of TPM, a variety of two-photon (TP) probes for specific applications are needed. In this article, we report a small-molecule TP probe (ANO1) for nitric oxide (NO) that shows a rapid and specific NO response, a 68-fold fluorescence enhancement in response to NO, and a maximum TP-action cross-section of 170 GM (GM: 10(-50) cm(4) photon(-1)) upon reaction with excess NO.

A small molecule two-photon probe for hydrogen sulfide in live tissues.

We report a two-photon probe (FS1) which shows a 21-fold two-photon excited fluorescence enhancement in response to H(2)S and can selectively detect H(2)S in a rat hippocampal slice at a depth of 90-190 μm by using two-photon microscopy.

Measurement of pH values in human tissues by two-photon microscopy.

pH values go live! A ratiometric two-photon (TP) probe (NP1, see scheme) that has a significant TP action cross-section, high photostability, negligible toxicity, and can estimate pH values in live cells and human tissues by two-photon microscopy is described. NP1 can detect the difference in pH between live cells from the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and the lower esophageal sphincter of patients with and without esophagitis.

Two-photon Lysotrackers for in vivo imaging.

We report two-photon Lysotrackers (CLT-blue and CLT-yellow) that can be excited by 750-840 nm femtosecond laser pulses and emit at 470 and 550 nm, respectively. They can be easily loaded into cells and tissue slices for visualization of lysosomes in live cells and tissues for a long period of time through two-photon microscopy. When combined with appropriate two-photon probes for other biological targets, these novel probes would greatly facilitate the two-photon microscopy colocalization experiments.

Ratiometric detection of mitochondrial thiols with a two-photon fluorescent probe.

We report a ratiometric two-photon probe (SSH-Mito) for mitochondrial thiols. This probe shows a marked blue-to-yellow emission color change in response to RSH, a significant two-photon cross section, good mitochondrial thiol selectivity, low cytotoxicity, and insensitivity to pH over the biologically relevant pH range, allowing the direct visualization of RSH levels in live cells as well as in living tissues at 90-190 μm depth without interference from other biologically relevant species through the use of two-photon microscopy.

In vivo imaging of near-membrane calcium ions with two-photon probes.

We report a two-photon (TP) probe (ACaLN) for near-membrane Ca(2+) that shows a 13-fold TP excited fluorescence (TPEF) enhancement in response to Ca(2+), dissociation constants (K(d)(TP)) of (1.9±0.2) μM, pH-insensitivity at the biologically relevant pH, and can detect near-membrane Ca(2+) in live cells for more than 1500 s and in living tissues at 120 μm depth without interference from other metal ions.