The study aimed to evaluate the usability of sterile bag collection (SBC) urinalysis and urine culture for diagnosing urinary tract infections (UTI). Urine culture is key for diagnosing UTI, and transurethral catheterization (TUC) or suprapubic aspiration is recommended for non-toilet-trained children. Although urine testing using SBC is non-invasive and easy, UTI can be diagnosed only if other criteria including clinical symptoms and positive urinalysis results are met. This study included 228 infants who were hospitalized for unexplained fever from October 2015 to June 2016. TUC culture, SBC urinalysis, and urine culture were performed for all patients. UTI was diagnosed when the TUC culture results met the criterion of ≥104 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. When UTI diagnosis was made based on SBC urine colony counts ≥105 CFU/mL, the false-positive and false-negative rates were 6.3% and 70.0%, respectively. When the criterion was set as ≥104 CFU/mL, they were 23.7% and 30.0%, respectively. When both the criteria of ≥105 CFU/mL and positive urinalysis results were met, the false-positive rate was 2.4%, and the false-negative rate was 80%. Our results suggest that diagnosing UTI using SBC urinalysis and urine culture is not useful in infants with unexplained fever.

Background : This text was conducted to compare the difference of fatty acid by part and ha bitat of Glehnia littoralis in Korea Midwest. Methods and Results : In Glehnia littoralis, Saturated fatty acid consisted of palmitic acid, ste aric acid, and unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid. Content of w hole fatty acid was the most as 42.8% linoleic acid, and stearic acid was less best as 2.9%. Other fatty acid were oleic acid 27.1%, palmitic acid 15.3%, linolenic acid 11.9%. Fatty acid by plant part it was the most in leaf that linoleic acid (31.4%), and it was the most in root t hat linoleic acid (68.3%), and it was the most in breed that oleic acid (65.5%). Fatty acid by natural habitat contained in Incheon area located in high latitude more than Taean area. Conclusions : In Glehnia littoralis of Korea Midwest, The collection and cultivation of medici nal scope was broader, because difference of fatty acid content by natural habitat was light.

The effect of sudden changes of water temperature (WT) on the survival rate and physiological responses of the red spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara) were examined by manipulating WT control system for 9 days. Experimental condition was divided in two different regimes at low (from 10°C to 4°C, decreased 1℃/d) and high (from 28°C to 34°C, increased 1°C/d) WT. Survival rate of experimental fishes were observed, and determined the changes of hematological characteristics by analyzing plasma levels of cortisol, glucose, total protein, and electrolytes (Na+, Cl–, K+). No mortality was observed until low WT 6°C (144 h) and high WT 32°C (96 h), and 100% mortality was observed at low WT 4°C (216 h) and high WT 35°C (171 h). Plasma levels of cortisol and glucose increased rapidly as decreasing WT, and the loss of swimming ability and respiration response was observed at low WT 7°C and high WT 34°C conditions.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seeds have long been clinically used in Korea to promote bone formation and prevent osteoporosis. In addition, the safflower buds (SB) were found to have more useful functional ingredients than safflower seed. Thus, we investigated the preventive effects of SB diet in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The rats were divided into five groups; sham operated group, OVX alone group, OVX plus 17β-estradiol (E2 10 ㎍/㎏, i.p.) and OVX plus SB diet feeding group (0.3% or 1%). Feeding of SB diet (0.3% or 3%) to OVX rats markedly increased trabecular formation in femur compared to OVX rats. Feeding of SB diet (0.3% or 3%) to OVX rats also decreased TRAP activity compared to OVX rats. These results suggest that SB diets have bone sparing effects by the decrease of osteoclast activity. We also observed that OVX rats fed with SB diet (0.3% or 3%) exhibited the decrease of calcium and phosphorus in serum compared to OVX-induced rats. Therefore, SB may be beneficial for the patients of osteoporosis, especially in postmenopausal women.

UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (UGE; EC 5.1.3.2) is an enzyme that plays an essential role in the interconverts UDP-D-glucose (UDP-Glc) and UDP-Dgalactose (UDP-Gal). Five members of the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) UDP-glucose 4-epimerase gene family, designated BrUGE1 to BrUGE5, have been cloned and characterized. Quantitative PCR shows that the BrUGE1and BrUGE4 mRNA are most abundant among other BrUGE genes, accounting for more than 55% of total BrUGE transcripts in most of the tissues examined. All genes showed organ specific expression pattern, two of which (BrUGE1 and 4) actively responded after Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum infection, while four genes (BrUGE-1, -3, -4 and -5)were shown to respond considerably against salt, drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. To better understand the function of the UGE gene, we constructed a recombinant pART vector carrying the BrUGE1 gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter and nos terminator and transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We then investigated BrUGE1 overexpressing rice lines at the physiological and molecular levels under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Bioassay of T3 progeny lines of the transgenic plants in Yoshida solution containing 120 mM Nacl for 2 weeks, confirmed that the BrUGE1 enhances salt tolerance to transgenic rice plants. Also T3 progeny lines of the transgenic plants, when exposed to infection caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae, showed tolerance to bacterial blight. These results showed that BrUGE1 can be used as potential genetic resource for engineering Brassica with multiple stress resistance.