Mitochondrial DNA screening by melting curve analysis using peptide nucleic acid probes.

Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in mitochondrial (mt)DNA hypervariable regions (HV) 1/2 is valuable in forensic investigations. We developed a method for mtDNA screening of the HV1 and HV2 regions by melting curve analysis, using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes. This method focuses on melting peak patterns obtained by thermal dissociation of PNA/DNA duplexes in amplified mtDNA products.

Analysis of ovarian volume of Korean children and adolescents at magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Knowledge of ovarian volume is important for diagnostic evaluations; however, normal ovarian volume studies on children and adolescents are lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze age-specific ovarian volume and identify the diverse factors that contribute to ovarian diagnoses.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 180 patients (0-18 years of age) with normal ovaries who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between 2010 and 2018.

Characterization of Edge Contact: Atomically Resolved Semiconductor-Metal Lateral Boundary in MoS.

Despite recent efforts for the development of transition-metal-dichalcogenide-based high-performance thin-film transistors, device performance has not improved much, mainly because of the high contact resistance at the interface between the 2D semiconductor and the metal electrode. Edge contact has been proposed for the fabrication of a high-quality electrical contact; however, the complete electronic properties for the contact resistance have not been elucidated in detail. Using the scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques, the edge contact, as well as the lateral boundary between the 2D semiconducting layer and the metalized interfacial layer, are investigated, and their electronic properties and the energy band profile across the boundary are shown.

A new method for ABO genotyping using fluorescence melting curve analysis based on peptide nucleic acid probes.

ABO genotyping has been routinely used to identify suspects or unknown remains in crime investigations. Probe-based fluorescence melting curve analysis (FMCA) is a powerful tool for mutation detection and is based on melting temperature shifts due to thermal denaturation. In the present study, we developed a new method for ABO genotyping using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe-based FMCA.

Source localization approach for functional DOT using MUSIC and FDR control.

In this paper, we formulate diffuse optical tomography (DOT) problems as a source localization problem and propose a MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm for functional brain imaging application. By providing MUSIC spectra for major chromophores such as oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (HbR), we are able to investigate the spatial distribution of brain activities. Moreover, the false discovery rate (FDR) algorithm can be applied to control the family-wise error in the MUSIC spectra.

Anomalous origin of the left circumflex coronary artery from the first diagonal branch presented as acute myocardial infarction.

Coronary artery anomalies are diagnosed in 0.6 to 1.5% of patients who undergo coronary angiography (CAG).

Lipid metabolic effect of Korean red ginseng extract in mice fed on a high-fat diet.

Background: Ginseng saponin and ginsenosides exert anti-obesity effects via the modulation of physiological lipid metabolism in vivo or intracellular signalling in cell culture systems. However, the complicated relationship between the anti-obesity effects of ginseng and gene expression has yet to be defined under in vivo conditions. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between the anti-obesity effects of Korean red ginseng extract (KRGE) and hepatic gene expression profiles in mice fed long-term on a high-fat diet (HFD) in this study.

A DNA microarray for identification of selected Korean birds based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene sequences.

DNA barcoding with the gene encoding cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) in the mitochondrial genome has been proposed as a standard marker to identify and discover animal species. Some migratory wild birds are suspected of transmitting avian influenza and pose a threat to aircraft safety because of bird strikes. We have previously reported the COI gene sequences of 92 Korean bird species.

Usefulness of 64-slice multidetector computed tomography as an initial diagnostic approach in patients with acute chest pain.

Background: Recently, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has been proposed as an accurate diagnostic tool to evaluate for coronary artery disease. However, the role of MDCT as part of the initial diagnostic for evaluating acute chest pain is less well established.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department (ED) and risk stratified them based on the pretest probability for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS): (1) very low, (2) low, (3) intermediate, (4) high, and (5) very high or definite.

Application of multiplex bead array assay for Yq microdeletion analysis in infertile males.

The purpose of this study was to apply the multiplex bead array as a diagnostic tool for male infertility. The multiplex bead array offers a new platform in high-throughput nucleic acid detection. Six loci, including sex-determining regions on the Y (SRY) chromosome as a control and five sequence-tagged sites (STS) in azoospermia-factor regions, were used in this system.

Gene expression analysis of peroxisome proliferators- and phenytoin-induced hepatotoxicity using cDNA microarray.

The recent DNA microarray technology enables us to understand a large number of gene expression profiling. The technology has potential possibility to comprehend mechanism of multiple genes were related to compounds which have toxicity in biological system. So, the toxicogenomics through this technology may be very powerful for understanding the effect of unknown toxic mechanisms in biological system.