Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (ML) is a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma involving MALT, commonly the stomach or salivary glands, although virtually any mucosal site can be affected. ML originates from B cells in the marginal zone of MALT, and is also called extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma. It is a slow-growing cancer that usually responds well to treatment. A 59-year-old female presented with a 1-day history of quadriparesis and dysarthria. Up arrival at the hospital, motor power in the right upper and lower extremities was grade 3/5 according to the Medical Research Council scale, while that in the left leg was 4/5. The patient had been diagnosed with gastric ML 1 year prior, and had received antibiotics during the previous 2 weeks. The emergency magnetic resonance imaging of the brain performed at the time of presentation showed multifocal embolic infarction in the cerebral hemisphere bilaterally, which did not have a cardiac origin. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed no stenotic or occlusive lesions. Secondary prophylaxis with daily administration of 300 mg aspirin was prescribed. The patient was discharged with residual right hemiparesis 2 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Herein, we present a rare case of multifocal cerebral infarction in a gastric ML patient.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) indicates high risk for major stroke and is considered a medical emergency. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) enables detection of acute ischemic lesions. The clinical significance of DWI positive lesions in TIA is obscure and its prevalence, clinical features are not established. Therefore, we performed a clinical, etiological and prognostic analysis through a cross-sectional analysis of 235 TIA patients, grouped according to presence of DWI lesion. Clinical features, underlying risk factors for stroke, outcome and rate of recurrence were analyzed. 3 months follow-up of modified Rankin Scales (mRS) were done with telephone survey. DWI positive lesions were present in 14.0% of patients. Etiological factors significantly associated with DWI lesions in TIA patients were male sex (p = 0.038), stroke history (p = 0.012) and atrial fibrillation (p < 0.001). Presence of at least one medium or high risk of cardioembolism from TOAST classification were not associated with lesions when excluding association to atrial fibrillation (p = 0.108). Clinical features showed no significant difference. Whether the patients had lesion-positive DWI was not related to an increase in mRS score during the hospital stay or at the 3-month follow-up after discharge. Future studies should include multi-center samples with large numbers, considering each unique medical environment. Routine acquisition of follow-up DWI for proper evaluation of the tissue-based definition of TIA should also be considered.

Background and Purpose: The Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) is the ratio of blood pressure in the lower legs to that in the arms. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of extracranial carotid arteries determined by B-mode ultrasound is a measurable index of the presence of atherosclerosis. A low ABI and a high carotid IMT are independently related to increased risk of cardiovascular events. This study examined the association between carotid IMT and ABI in patients with ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: Retrospectively, 116 hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke were recruited. Using a pulse wave velocity ABI device along with carotid duplex sonography, we measured carotid IMT and ABI and investigated the correlation between average values. Results: There was a significant difference in carotid IMT between the normal and abnormal ABI groups (P=0.0262). The group with an abnormal ABI was more than five times as likely to have increased carotid IMT as the group with a normal ABI (age, sex-adjusted OR 5.67 (95% CI 1.85~17.38)). The ABI and carotid IMT showed a weak inverse linear correlation in patients with ischemic stroke (correlation coefficient −0.378 after adjusting for age and sex). Conclusion: Our study suggests that an abnormal ABI is associated with a high carotid IMT in patients with ischemic stroke.

Bacillus thuringiensis (B. t.) strains are important microorganism because they produced a large amount of δ-endotoxin protein per bacterial cell and their toxins are highly toxic to Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera depending on B. t. To date, more than a hundred Cry proteins have been identified and classified into 195 holotypes, based on the amino acid sequence identity. The Cry proteins or cry genes from the Korean native B. t. isolates in this study were not identified yet. The electrospray ionization of quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI Q-TOF MS) was used to get the internal amino acid sequences of the endotoxin-spore culture mixtures of B. t. isolates, for which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were unable to detect the cognate genes. Most of Cry proteins seperated, excized, and extracted from the one dimensional - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D-PAGE), instead of 2D-PAGE, were matched with protein databases using MS-MASCOT search program. The internal amino acid sequences which were submitted to protein BLAST (basic local alignment search tool) had partially homology with the Cry protein databases. Hence, present data strongly suggest that the de novo amino acid sequencing and ESI Q-TOF/MS analysis along with MASCOT search could be used as a simple and rapid method for detection of novel Cry toxins from B. t. isolates and identification of B. t. isolates.

A B. thuringiensis kurstaki was first discovered by H. Dulmage in 1970 and commercialized as a DipelTM due to powerful toxicity to various Lepidoptera. Previously we isolated B. thuringiensis kurstaki on the basis of plasmid DNA profiling and H-antigen serotyping. The aims of this study were to screen larvicidal activities and select the highly active B. thuringiensis isolates against the important polyphagous pests of mandarine oranges and vegetables. The colony forming unit (CFU/ml) of each of culture mixtures was determined to estimate the δ-endotoxin concentration. The bioassay against artificial diet-rearing insects was conducted by surface contamination methods using the Petri dishes specially designed and manufactured by SPL Lifesciences. The insecticidal activities to the natural diet-rearing insect were measured by the application of spore and crystal mixtures to the leaf discs of the chinese cabbage with Potter spray tower. The following insects were used for the larvicidal activities of B. thuringiensis isolates: beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua, diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, giant looper Ascotis selenaria, tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura, and variegated cutworm Peridroma sucia.

The effects of fiber surface-treatment and sizing on the dynamic mechanical properties of unidirectional and 2-directional carbon fiber/nylon 6 composites by means of dynamic mechanical analysis have been investigated in the present study. The interlaminar shear strengths of 2-directional carbon/nylon 6 composites sized with various thermosetting and thermoplastic resins are also measured using a short-beam shear test method. The result suggests that different surface-treatment levels onto carbon fibers may influence the storage modulus and tan δ behavior of carbon/nylon 6 composites, reflecting somewhat change of the stiffness and the interfacial adhesion of the composites. Dynamic mechanical analysis and short-beam shear test results indicate that appropriate use of a sizing material upon carbon fiber composite processing may contribute to enhancing the interfacial and/or interlaminar properties of woven carbon fabric/nylon 6 composites, depending on their resin characteristics and processing temperature.

본 연구에서는 홍국쌀에서 분리한 M. purpureus KCCM 60570을 찐 쌀에 1.0% (w/w) 접종 후 25℃에서 배양하면서 홍국쌀 제조 조건 확립 및 품질 특성을 확인하였다. 또한 기존의 두부 셰이크에 홍국쌀을 첨가한 두부 셰이크의 기호도 조사를 통해 적정한 혼합비율을 결정하고, 품질 특성을 확인하였다. M. purpureus KCCM 60570으로 제조한 홍국 쌀의 monacolin K와 곰팡이수를 확인한 결과 배양 8일차까지 급격히 증가하다가 이후 완만히 증가하여 홍국쌀의 적정 제조온도 및 시간은 25℃에서 8일로 나타났다. 기존의 두부 셰이크에 M. purpureus KCCM 6057으로 25℃에서 8일간 제조한 홍국쌀을 서로 다른 농도로 첨가한 두부 셰이크의 관능검사 결과 맛, 향, 조직감 및 전체적인 기호도에서 0.5% (w/w) 홍국쌀을 첨가한 두부 셰이크의 기호도가 가장 높은 것으로 나타나 두부 셰이크의 적정 홍국쌀 혼합 비율은 0.5% (w/w)인 것으로 나타났다. 홍국쌀을 0.5% (w/w) 첨가 한 두부 셰이크와 기존 시판 두부 셰이크의 품질 특성을 비교한 결과 홍국쌀 첨가 두부 셰이크의 환원당과 총당 함량, 붉은 색소인 monacolin K와 색도 a 값이 월등히 높은 것으로 나타났다. 또한 기존 두부 셰이크와 0.5% (w/w) 홍국쌀을 첨가한 두부 셰이크와의 관능검사를 비교한 결과 색과 조직감이 좋은 것으로 나타나 두부 셰이크 제조에 홍국쌀을 첨가할 경우 두부 셰이크의 품질을 개선할 수 있는 가능성을 확인할 수 있었다.

본 연구에서는 항암 등의 기능성이 우수한 것으로 알려 진 개똥쑥 추출물을 첨가하여 김치를 제조하여 김치 품질 특성 변화를 살펴보았다. 개똥쑥의 물 또는 70% 에탄올로 추출물 1 또는 2% 첨가하여 김치를 제조하고 10, 15℃에서 20일간 숙성하면서 pH, 산도, 환원당, 생균수 및 젖산균수 의 변화 및 관능조사를 하였다. 개똥쑥의 첨가여부와는 관 계없이 pH, 산도 환원당, 생균수 및 젖산균수는 저장 4∼6일 까지 증가하고 이후 완만히 증가하는 경향을 보여 개똥쑥 추출물이 김치 품질에 미치는 영향은 크지 않은 것으로 나타났으며 개똥쑥 추출물 첨가 김치의 적정 숙성온도 및 기간은 10℃에서 10일간이었다. 관능검사의 경우 맛, 향 등의 기호도에서 전반적으로 개똥쑥 물 또는 에탄올 추출물 1%를 첨가하여 제조하는 것이 좋았으나 개똥쑥 물 또는 에탄올 추출물 2%를 첨가한 김치는 쓴 맛과 검은 색 등으로 인해 기호도가 떨어진 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 개똥쑥 물 또는 에탄올 추출물은 김치 제조에 1%를 김치 제조에 첨가 하는 것이 적당한 것으로 사료된다.