Parsonage-Turner Syndrome Following Typhoid Vaccination.

Parsonage-Turner syndrome is a rare neurological disease of varying etiology characterized by severe shoulder pain, muscle weakness, and atrophy. Mechanisms are unclear, but are thought to be genetic and immune-mediated reactions. Rarely, Parsonage-Turner syndrome occurs as a side effect of vaccination.

Particulate Matter Exposure During Oocyte Maturation: Cell Cycle Arrest, ROS Generation, and Early Apoptosis in Mice.

Particulate matter (PM) is a general atmospheric pollutant released into the air by an anthropogenic and naturally derived mixture of substances. Current studies indicate that fine dust can result in different health defects, including endothelial dysfunction, asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, uterine leiomyoma, deterioration in sperm quality, and overall birth impairment. However, the most prominent effects of PM (diameter < 10 μM) exposure on the female reproductive system, especially with respect to oocyte maturation, remain unclear.

Comparison of clinical efficacy between ultra-LABAs and ultra-LAMAs in COPD: a systemic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: A single long-acting bronchodilator, ultra-long acting muscarinic antagonist (ultra-LAMA) or ultra-long acting β-agonist (ultra-LABA) is preferred for the initial treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, there are few head-to-head comparative studies between the two. Here, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to compare the clinical efficacy between ultra-LABA and ultra-LAMA in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched (to March 1, 2017) to identify all published randomized controlled trials.

Massive parallel sequencing of short tandem repeats in the Korean population.

STR analysis using capillary electrophoresis has been the most widely used method for forensic DNA typing. Recently, massive parallel sequencing (MPS) technique has been emerging as an innovative tool to supplement or replace the conventional CE process. In this study, we evaluated the application of commercial MiSeqFGx™ forensic signature kit (Illumina Inc.

Differential pre-amplification of STR loci for fragmented forensic DNA profiling.

DNA profiling of short tandem repeats (STR) has been successfully used for the identification of individuals in forensic samples, accidents and natural disasters. However, STR profiling of DNA isolated from old crime scenes and damaged biological samples is difficult due to DNA degradation and fragmentation. Here, we show that pre-amplification of STR loci using biotinylated primers for the STR loci is an efficient strategy to obtain STR profiling results from fragmented forensic samples.

Enhanced anti-oxidative effect of fermented Korean mistletoe is originated from an increase in the contents of caffeic acid and lyoniresinol.

Viscum album var. coloratum (Korean mistletoe; KM) is an herbal medicine that is used worldwide for the treatment of various immunological disorders and cancers. KM extract showed enhanced anti-oxidative effects in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate acetyl ester assays after being fermented with a crude enzyme extract from a soybean paste fungus, Aspergillus kawachii.

A Case of Statin-Induced Interstitial Pneumonitis due to Rosuvastatin.

Statins lower the hyperlipidemia and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events and related mortality. A 60-year-old man who was diagnosed with a transient ischemic attack was started on acetyl-L-carnitine, cilostazol, and rosuvastatin. After rosuvastatin treatment for 4 weeks, the patient presented with sudden onset fever, cough, and dyspnea.

Optimization of STR locus enrichment for STR profiling of fragmented DNA.

DNA degradation is a major obstacle in gaining an accurate profile with standard DNA typing technology. Although alternative genotyping strategies such as mini-STRs and SNPs have proven to be more successful in profiling degraded DNA, these approaches also have limitations. Here, we show that locus enrichment by hybridization of degraded genomic DNA with an STR locus-specific biotinylated oligonucleotide is a powerful approach to overcome problems in STR typing of highly degraded DNA.

SH3RF2 functions as an oncogene by mediating PAK4 protein stability.

SH3RF (SH3-domain-containing RING finger protein) family members, SH3RF1-3, are multidomain scaffold proteins involved in promoting cell survival and apoptosis. In this report, we show that SH3RF2 is an oncogene product that is overexpressed in human cancers and regulates p21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4) protein stability. Immunohistochemical analysis of 159 colon cancer tissues showed that SH3RF2 expression levels are frequently elevated in cancer tissues and significantly correlate with poor prognostic indicators, including increased invasion, early recurrence and poor survival rates.

High-throughput STR analysis for DNA database using direct PCR.

Since the Korean criminal DNA database was launched in 2010, we have focused on establishing an automated DNA database profiling system that analyzes short tandem repeat loci in a high-throughput and cost-effective manner. We established a DNA database profiling system without DNA purification using a direct PCR buffer system. The quality of direct PCR procedures was compared with that of conventional PCR system under their respective optimized conditions.

Stabilization of HIPK2 by escape from proteasomal degradation mediated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Siah1.

Homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) induces apoptosis and, thus, is maintained at a low level via ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. In a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified Siah1, a RING finger E3 ubiquitin ligase, as an interacting protein of HIPK2. Siah1 targeted HIPK2 for poly-ubiquitination-mediated proteasomal degradation.

Synthesis of gelatin-containing PHBV nanofiber mats for biomedical application.

Electrospinning is one of the fabrication method to form ultra-fine fiber in a nano-scale made of synthetic and natural extracellular matrix components for tissue-engineering applications. In this study, a nanofibrous scaffold was obtained by co-electrospinning poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and gelatin in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) at a ratio of 50/50. The resulting fiber diameters were in the range of 400-1,000 nm without any beads.

Maximization of dextransucrase activity expressed in E. coli by mutation and its functional characterization.

A novel dextransucrase gene, DSRN, was obtained by ultrasoft X-ray treatment of the DSRB742 gene. The DSRN gene was further mutated via site-directed mutagenesis producing four mutants: DSRN1 (F196S), DSRN2 (Y346N), DSRN3 (K395T) and DSRN4 (P980T). Dextransucrases derived from DSRB742 and its mutants were expressed in E.

Electrospun PHBV/collagen composite nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Electrospinning has recently emerged as a leading technique for the formation of nanofibrous structures made of synthetic and natural extracellular matrix components. In this study, nanofibrous scaffolds were obtained by electrospinning a combination of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and type-I collagen in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-isopropanol (HIFP). The resulting fibers ranged from 300 to 600 nm in diameter.