RNA expression analysis of efflux pump genes in clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in South Korea.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is an important communicable disease. Various mechanisms of resistance to antituberculosis drugs have been reported; these are principally mutations in target genes. However, not all M.

Osteoblasts Are the Centerpiece of the Metastatic Bone Microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment is comprised of diverse stromal cell populations in addition to tumor cells. Increasing evidence now clearly supports the role of microenvironment stromal cells in tumor progression and metastasis, yet the regulatory mechanisms and interactions among tumor and stromal cells remain to be elucidated. Bone metastasis is the major problem in many types of human malignancies including prostate, breast and lung cancers, and the biological basis of bone metastasis let alone curative approaches are largely undetermined.

The Second Antithyroid Drug Treatment Is Effective in Relapsed Graves' Disease Patients: A Median 11-Year Follow-Up Study.

Background: Antithyroid drug (ATD) is a widely used treatment for Graves' disease (GD). However, its long-term efficiency remains unclear. This study investigated the long-term disease prognosis and predictive factors for relapse in ATD-treated GD patients.

Differential Cell Count and CRP Level in Blood as Predictors for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection in Acute Febrile Patients during Nosocomial Outbreak.

A case-control study was performed to identify clinical predictors for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection among patients with acute febrile illness during the nosocomial outbreak. Patients with MERS-CoV were more likely to have monocytosis with normal white blood cell (WBC) count and lower C-reactive protein (CRP) level. Simple laboratory data such as complete blood counts (CBC) with differential count could be a useful marker for the prediction of MERS and triage at the initial presentation of acute febrile patients in outbreak setting.

Serologic Evaluation of MERS Screening Strategy for Healthcare Personnel During a Hospital-Associated Outbreak.

To evaluate the appropriateness of the screening strategy for healthcare personnel (HCP) during a hospital-associated Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, we performed a serologic investigation in 189 rRT-PCR-negative HCP exposed and assigned to MERS patients. Although 20%-25% of HCP experienced MERS-like symptoms, none of them showed seroconversion by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:234-238.

Fixed point results for fractal generation in Noor orbit and s-convexity.

In this note, we give fixed point results in fractal generation (Julia sets and Mandelbrot sets) by using Noor iteration scheme with s-convexity. Researchers have already presented fixed point results in Mann and Ishikawa orbits that are examples of one-step and two-step feedback processes respectively. In this paper we present fixed point results in Noor orbit, which is a three-step iterative procedure.

Decreasing prevalence of heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus among blood isolates in Korean hospitals.

We investigated the prevalence of heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) among methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) blood isolates collected from Korean hospitals. The hVISA prevalence in Korean hospitals has decreased during the past decade and the most significant decrease of hVISA prevalence was observed among the ST5 MRSA.

PRSS1, SPINK1, CFTR, and CTRC Pathogenic Variants in Korean Patients With Idiopathic Pancreatitis.

Background: This study aimed to identify pathogenic variants of PRSS1, SPINK1, CFTR, and CTRC genes in Korean patients with idiopathic pancreatitis.

Methods: The study population consisted of 116 Korean subjects (65 males, 51 females; mean age, 30.4 yr, range, 1-88 yr) diagnosed with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP), idiopathic recurrent acute pancreatitis (IRAP), or idiopathic acute pancreatitis (IAP).

Clinical Features and Risk Factors for Development of Breakthrough Gram-Negative Bacteremia during Carbapenem Therapy.

With the increasing use of carbapenems, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have become a major concern in health care-associated infections. The present study was performed to evaluate the clinical and microbiological features of breakthrough Gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) during carbapenem therapy and to assess risk factors for development of breakthrough GNB. A case-control study was performed at a tertiary hospital from 2005 to 2014.

Predictive factors for pneumonia development and progression to respiratory failure in MERS-CoV infected patients.

Background: After the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Korea, prediction of pneumonia development and progression to respiratory failure was emphasized in control of MERS outbreak.

Methods: MERS-CoV infected patients who were managed in a tertiary care center during the 2015 Korean MERS outbreak were reviewed. To analyze predictive factors for pneumonia development and progression to respiratory failure, we evaluated clinical variables measured within three days from symptom onset.

Comprehensive Analysis of the Transcriptional and Mutational Landscape of Follicular and Papillary Thyroid Cancers.

Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) and benign follicular adenoma (FA) are indistinguishable by preoperative diagnosis due to their similar histological features. Here we report the first RNA sequencing study of these tumors, with data for 30 minimally invasive FTCs (miFTCs) and 25 FAs. We also compared 77 classical papillary thyroid carcinomas (cPTCs) and 48 follicular variant of PTCs (FVPTCs) to observe the differences in their molecular properties.

Macrophage Densities Correlated with CXC Chemokine Receptor 4 Expression and Related with Poor Survival in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) have emerged as potential biomarkers in various human cancers. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical characteristics of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) patients according to the TAM numbers in the tumor tissue, and to evaluate the associations between CXCR4 expressions and macrophage densities in ATC tumor microenvironment.

Methods: Total 14 ATC samples from thyroid tissue microarray were used.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone improves insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle cells via cAMP/PKA/CREB pathway-dependent upregulation of insulin receptor substrate-1 expression.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor is expressed in extrathyroidal tissues such as hepatocytes, adipocytes, and skeletal muscle, which suggests a possible novel role of TSH in various metabolic processes in extrathyroidal tissues independent of thyroid hormones. We investigated whether TSH has any effects on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle using diet-induced obesity (DIO) mouse models and rodent skeletal muscle cells. TSH improved glucose tolerance in DIO mice and this was associated with an improvement of skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity resulting from the increased expression of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 protein and mRNA therein.

Mean Platelet Volume in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection.

Introduction. Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been thought as a useful index of platelet activation. It is supposed that MPV is also associated with several inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Seroepidemiological Survey of Zoonotic Diseases in Small Mammals with PCR Detection of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Chiggers, Gwangju, Korea.

Serosurveillance for zoonotic diseases in small mammals and detection of chiggers, the vector of Orientia tsutsugamushi, were conducted from September 2014 to August 2015 in Gwangju Metropolitan Area. Apodemus agrarius was the most commonly collected small mammals (158; 91.8%), followed by Myodes regulus (8; 4.

MERS-CoV outbreak following a single patient exposure in an emergency room in South Korea: an epidemiological outbreak study.

Background: In 2015, a large outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection occurred following a single patient exposure in an emergency room at the Samsung Medical Center, a tertiary-care hospital in Seoul, South Korea. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology of MERS-CoV outbreak in our hospital.

Methods: We identified all patients and health-care workers who had been in the emergency room with the index case between May 27 and May 29, 2015.

Control of an Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in a Tertiary Hospital in Korea.

Background: In 2015, a large outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) occurred in the Republic of Korea. Half of the cases were associated with a tertiary care university hospital.

Objective: To document the outbreak and successful control measures.

Emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in blood isolates causing bacteremia: molecular epidemiology and microbiologic characteristics.

Among 127 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates causing bacteremia, 41 (32.3%) were nonsusceptible to levofloxacin, in which four sequence types and 24 diverse allelic profiles were detected. The most prevalent ST was ST77 (n = 8, 19.

Prognostic effects of TERT promoter mutations are enhanced by coexistence with BRAF or RAS mutations and strengthen the risk prediction by the ATA or TNM staging system in differentiated thyroid cancer patients.

Background: Recent reports suggest that mutations in the promoter of the gene encoding telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) affect thyroid cancer outcomes.

Methods: In all, 551 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) enrolled in this study. The median follow-up duration was 4.

Novel large deletion in AVPR2 gene causing copy number variation in a patient with X-linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

Background: The diagnosis of cranial and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (DI) can be clinically challenging. The application of molecular genetic analysis can help in resolving diagnostic difficulties.

Case: A 3 month-old boy presented with recurrent polyuria was admitted to Intensive Care Unit and was treated as DI.

blaNDM-5-Bearing IncFII-Type Plasmids of Klebsiella pneumoniae Sequence Type 147 Transmitted by Cross-Border Transfer of a Patient.

The two plasmids extracted from Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 147 (ST147) isolates were analyzed. The first isolate was obtained from a patient transferred from United Arab Emirates to South Korea. The second isolate was obtained from a Korean patient and was suspected to be transmitted from the first patient.