Analysis of national surveillance of respiratory pathogens for community-acquired pneumonia in children and adolescents.

Background: Respiratory infections among children, particularly community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), is a major disease with a high frequency among outpatient and inpatient visits. The causes of CAP vary depending on individual susceptibility, the epidemiological characteristics of the community, and the season. We performed this study to establish a nationwide surveillance network system and identify the causative agents for CAP and antibiotic resistance in Korean children with CAP.

Synergistic anticancer effect of docosahexaenoic acid and isoliquiritigenin on human colorectal cancer cells through ROS-mediated regulation of the JNK and cytochrome c release.

A large body of research has demonstrated a synergistic anticancer effect between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and standard chemotherapy regimens against colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we investigated the chemotherapeutic potential of cotreatment with DHA and isoliquiritigenin (ISL) against CRC HCT-116 cells. Apoptosis was confirmed by Annexin V/PI staining and expression of apoptosis-associated proteins.

Mid-Aortic Syndrome in Williams-Beuren Syndrome with an Atypical Small-Sized Deletion of Chromosome 7q11.23 Misdiagnosed as Takayasu Arteritis.

Mid-aortic syndrome (MAS) is a rare condition characterized by stenosis of the distal thoracic and/or abdominal aorta. Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a relatively rare cause of MAS. We report a case of incidentally diagnosed MAS caused by WBS without typical manifestations caused by an atypical small-sized deletion in chromosome 7q11.

Predictive value of C-reactive protein for the diagnosis of meningitis in febrile infants under 3 months of age in the emergency department.

Background: Fever is a common cause of pediatric consultation in the emergency department. However, identifying the source of infection in many febrile infants is challenging because of insufficient presentation of signs and symptoms. Meningitis is a critical cause of fever in infants, and its diagnosis is confirmed invasively by lumbar puncture.

Intra-individual variability in neurocognitive function in schizophrenia: relationships with the corpus callosum.

Patients with schizophrenia not only have impairments in neurological function, but also have instability and variability in neurocognitive function. However, previous researchers have not fully studied the relationships between dispersion across multiple neurocognitive domains and white matter (WM) structures of the brain. This study focuses on intra-individual variability (IIV) in patients with schizophrenia and its relationship with WM integrity of the corpus callosum (CC).

Development of a Rapid Fluorescent Immunochromatographic Test to Detect Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common viruses infecting the respiratory tracts of infants. The rapid and sensitive detection of RSV is important to minimize the incidence of infection. In this study, novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; B11A5 and E8A11) against RSV nucleoprotein (NP) were developed and applied to develop a rapid fluorescent immunochromatographic strip test (FICT), employing europium nanoparticles as the fluorescent material.

Analysis of Clinical Manifestations and Laboratory Findings in Children with Influenza B-Associated Myositis: A Single Center Study.

Background: Influenza-associated myositis (IAM) is a rare and poorly recognized complication of influenza infection in children, and is characterized by acute onset of severe pain in the lower extremities and a refusal to ambulate walk. We sought to understand the association between IAM and influenza B infection and to investigate its clinical and laboratory characteristics in affected children.

Methods: Influenza B-associated myositis (IBAM) cases diagnosed in the pediatrics department of Wonkwang University Hospital from January 2010 and March 2016 were analyzed retrospectively.

A Case of Mesenteric Cyst in a 4-Year-Old Child with Acute Abdominal Pain.

Mesenteric cysts are rare intra-abdominal lesions occurring during childhood, which were first described in 1507. Cases of mesenteric cysts have been continuously reported, but these cases were very small in number. They are often asymptomatic and incidentally found while patients are undergoing work-up or receiving treatment for other conditions such as appendicitis, small-bowel obstruction, or diverticulitis; however, patients may still have lower abdominal pain and symptoms that are frequently associated with other abdominal conditions.

Rapid Detection of Avian Influenza Virus by Fluorescent Diagnostic Assay using an Epitope-Derived Peptide.

Currently, the point of care testing (POCT) is not fully developed for subtype-specific avian influenza virus detection. In this study, an H5N1 hemaglutinin 1 (HA1) epitope (P0: KPNDAINF) and three modified peptides (P1: KPNTAINF, P2: KPNGAINF, P3: KPNDAINDAINF) were evaluated as POCT elements for rapid detection of avian influenza virus. Based on modeling predictions by Autodock Vina, binding affinity varied depending on alteration of one amino acid in these peptides.

Fornix microalterations associated with early trauma in panic disorder.

Background: It is well accepted that panic disorder (PD) is associated with early trauma, and that the limbic systems are one of the main structures involved in PD pathophysiology. However, previous studies have not addressed the relationship between early trauma and major limbic white-matter (WM) structures in PD.

Methods: Participants enrolled in the study consisted of 53 right-handed patients with PD and 21 healthy controls (HC).

Diphyllobothrium latum infection in a child with recurrent abdominal pain.

Diphyllobothrium latum infection in humans is not common in Republic of Korea. We report a case of fish tapeworm infection in a 10-year-old boy after ingestion of raw perch about 8 months ago. The patient complained of recurrent abdominal pain and watery diarrhea.

The usefulness of soluble transferrin receptor in the diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency anemia in children.

Purpose: Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a truncated extracellular form of the membrane transferrin receptor produced by proteolysis. Concentrations of serum sTfR are related to iron status and erythropoiesis in the body. We investigated whether serum sTfR levels can aid in diagnosis and treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in children.

Serum procalcitonin as a diagnostic marker of neonatal sepsis.

Purpose: We evaluated serum procalcitonin (PCT) as a diagnostic marker of neonatal sepsis, and compared PCT levels with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 269 neonates with a suspected infection, admitted to Wonkwang University School of Medicine & Hospital between January 2011 and December 2012, for whom PCT and CRP values had been obtained. Neonates were categorized into 4 groups according to infection severity.

6-trifluoromethyl-2-thiouracil possesses anti-Toxoplasma gondii effect in vitro and in vivo with low hepatotoxicity.

Since pyrimethamine, the general therapeutic drug for toxoplasmosis, presents several adverse side effects, the need to develop and evaluate new drugs for the condition is critical. In this study, anti-Toxoplasma gondii activities of 3-[{2-((E)-furan-2-ylmethylene)hydrazinyl}methylene]-1,3-dihydroindol-2-one (ATT-5126) and 6-trifluoromethyl-2-thiouracil (KH-0562) were evaluated in vitro using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay and in vivo by measuring amount of the tachyzoites in mice ascites. Biochemical parameters such as lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione (GSH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were also evaluated in livers of mice at 4 days post-infection.

The Effects of 5-HTR1A Polymorphism on Cingulum Connectivity in Patients with Panic Disorder.

Objective: Serotonin-1A receptors (5-HTR1A) is suggested to be involved in the etiology of several psychiatric disorders including panic disorder (PD). A few imaging studies have suggested the alterations of the cingulum bundle in PD. The objective of this study is to examine the structural changes of cingulum related to the 5-HTR1A polymorphism rs6295 in the patients with PD.

Acute viral gastroenteritis in children hospitalized in Iksan, Korea during December 2010-June 2011.

Purpose: Viral etiology is common in cases of children with acute diarrhea, and antibiotic therapy is usually not required. Therefore, it is important to determine the distribution of common viruses among children hospitalized with acute diarrhea.

Methods: We included 186 children who suffered from acute diarrhea and were hospitalized at the Wonkwang University Hospital Pediatric ward from December 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 in this study.

A case of acute myopericarditis associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in a child.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) primarily causes respiratory tract infections in persons aged 5-20 years. Tracheobronchitis and bronchopneumonia are the most commonly recognized clinical symptoms associated with M.

Fold recognition by combining profile-profile alignment and support vector machine.

Motivation: Currently, the most accurate fold-recognition method is to perform profile-profile alignments and estimate the statistical significances of those alignments by calculating Z-score or E-value. Although this scheme is reliable in recognizing relatively close homologs related at the family level, it has difficulty in finding the remote homologs that are related at the superfamily or fold level.

Results: In this paper, we present an alternative method to estimate the significance of the alignments.