선충절대기생세균(Pasteuria penetrans)이 감염되어 있는 온실토양을 이용하여 세균의 내생포자가 땅콩뿌리혹선충(Meloidogyne arenaria) 유충 표면에 부착하는데 대한 온도의 영향에 대해 시험하였다. 갓 부화된 뿌리혹선충 2령충(J2)을 페트리디쉬 내의 토양에 접종한 후 20℃, 25℃, 30℃, 35℃에서 7일간 처리하였다. 모든 온도에서 내생포자의 J2 부착률은 모두 100%로 나타났으나 J2당 내생포자 부착수는 25℃에서 28.3개로 가장 많았으며 30℃, 20℃ 및 35℃에서 각각 J2 당 20.2, 18.6 및 13.6개로 낮아졌다. J2를 접종하기 전에 세균이 있는 토양을 온도 별로 10일간 전처리하였을 때 내생포자 부착률은 실온에서의 60%에 비해 -30℃, 4℃, 40℃, 50℃ 및 100℃에서 각각 25.0, 31.7, 8.3, 5.0 및 0%로 현저하게 낮아졌다. J2 당 내생포자 부착수도 실온에서의 5.3개에 비해 -30℃, 4℃, 40℃, 50℃ 및 100℃에서 각각 3.5, 4.3, 1, 1, 0개로 적었다. P. penetrans 세균의 내생포자를 뿌리혹선충 종별로 J2에 부착 시험한 결과 땅콩뿌리혹선충에서는 100%였으나 당근뿌리혹선충(M. hapla)과 고구마뿌리혹선충(M. incognita)에서는 모두 0%로 본 균주는 뿌리혹선충 종에 대해 기주선호성을 가진 것으로 나타났다.

The faulty regulation of imprinting gene lead to the abnormal development of reconstructed embryo after nuclear transfer. However, the correlation between the imprinting status of donor cell and preimplantation stage of embryo development is not yet clear. In this study, to determine this correlation, we used the porcine spermatogonial stem cell (pSSC) and fetal fibroblast (pFF) as donor cells. As the results, the isolated cells with laminin matrix selection strongly expressed the GFRα-1 and PLZF genes of SSCs specific markers. The pSSCs were maintained to 12 passages and positive for the pluripotent marker including OCT4, SSEA1 and NANOG. The methylation analysis of H19 DMR of pSSCs revealed that the zinc finger protein binding sites CTCF3 of H19 DMRs displayed an androgenic imprinting pattern (92.7%). Also, to investigate the reprogramming potential of pSSCs as donor cell, we compared the development rate and methylation status of H19 gene between the reconstructed embryos from pFF and pSSC. This result showed no significant differences of the development rate between the pFFs (11.2±0.8%) and SSCs (13.3±1.1%). However, interestingly, while the CTCF3 methylation status of pFF-NT blastocyst was decreased (36.3%), and the CTCF3 methylation status of pSSC-NT blastocyst was maintained. Therefore, this result suggested that the genomic imprinting status of pSSCs is more effective than that of normal somatic cells for the normal development because the maintenance of imprinting pattern is very important in early embryo stage.

Coronary artery complications are the most severe complications in Kawasaki disease (KD). Its cause is unclear but superantigens are considered to influence KD. This study aimed to determine whether coronary artery complications and level of Nterminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in patients with KD. We studied 142 pediatric patients diagnosed with KD. MP immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody examination was conducted. All patients underwent echocardiography, and coronary artery dilatation was defined as a coronary Z-score >2.0. We also evaluated their NT-proBNP findings. The independent t-test and Pearson chi-squared test were used to analyze betweengroup differences; a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Forty children were MP IgM positive. MP IgMpositive patients were older than MP IgM-negative patients. There was no significant difference in the clinical manifestations between the groups. Comparison of the mean Z-score of the coronary artery revealed that only the Z-score of the left anterior descending artery was significantly different between the groups. However, the number of patients with coronary artery dilatation was not significantly different between the groups. Our findings demonstrated no relationship between MP infection and coronary artery dilatation or NT-proBNP levels in patients with KD.

Transcutaneous bilirubinometer(TcB) has been performed in patients who visited the outpatient clinic with jaundice, and the major factors and natural course of long-term hyperbilirubinemia were investigated. From January 2011 to December 2016, a review was made based on 61 electronic medical records that conform to the conditions of patients who visited outpatient clinic with neonatal jaundice. TcB values were measured to confirm the natural progress data of jaundice in the study sub-jects. We collected information on gestational age, birth weight, mode of delivery, Apgar score, patient and maternal blood type, feeding type and perinatal problems at outpatient visits. Feeding type was classified into breastfeeding, formula feed-ing, and mixed feeding. Total of 61 patients, 31 were born by vaginal delivery, and 30 were delivered by Caesarean section. 32 patients were male, and 29 were female. The mean gestational age was 38.07 ± 1.52 weeks and the mean birth weight was 3.04 ± 0.45 kg. Most of the infants were supplied by breastfeeding (39.3%) or mixed feeding (44.3%). The TcB values of the patients ranged from 10.0 to 19.0 mg/dL, when they visited for the first time with jaundice. The mean age was 11.64 ± 7.52 days and the mean body weight was 3.27 ± 0.66 kg. The range of TcB values at the next outpatient visit was 7.0 to 18.0 mg/dL. Initially measured TcB value was divided by 15.0 mg/dL and analyzed using Pearson Chi-square method, and the TcB value was significantly lower only in the delivery through Caesarean section (p=0.03). The changes in TcB values tend-ed to decrease during the follow-up period. The proportion of breast-feeding or mixed breast milk was slightly higher at 90.6% in the previous method of breastfeeding compared to those in the group with higher TcB values (p=0.009) (Table 3). When patients with mild jaundice visit the outpatient clinic and check the birth method and the main feeding method at the time of the visit, it is considered to be possible to reduce the number of examinations and to provide accurate information to the parents, thereby reducing the excessive interruption of breastfeeding.

This study aimed to analyze difference in clinical findings, including coronary artery complications, in patients with Kawasaki disease and respiratory symptoms with several respiratory infections. We studied 182 pediatric patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease. Examinations for respiratory viral polymerase chain reaction were conducted in the group of patients with respiratory symptoms. Echocardiography was perfomed by a pediatric cardiologist, and laboratory findings were evaluated. Clinical manifestations and laboratory findings based on medical records were compared. There were no differences between patients with and without respiratory viral infections with respect to age, male-female ratio, coronary artery complications, Kawasaki disease-specific clinical manifestations, duration of fever, duration of hospitalization, or recurrence rate. There was a significant difference in C-reactive protein levels (55.6 vs. 73.9 mg/L) between the two groups, but the other laboratory findings. The rate of respiratory infections in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease was similar to those reported in previous studies, and clinical manifestations and laboratory findings were not significantly different between the groups.

Diagnosis of scrub typhus is difficult because of its unspecific symptoms. The authors studied the correlation between serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels and scrub typhus, with the aim of aiding diagnose of the disease. The medical records of 64 children, who visited Wonkwang University Hospital from 2005 to 2015 for fever of undetermined origin, were analyzed retrospectively. Serum ADA levels were measured and indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assays were conducted. The patients were divided into two groups based on diagnosis of scrub typhus. Of 64 febrile patients, 39 were confirmed to have scrub typhus. Mean serum ADA level in the scrub typhus group (58.54±2.82 IU/L) was significantly higher than that in the non-scrub typhus group (29.30±4.03 IU/L, p<0.05). In the 25 non-scrub typhus patients, mean serum ADA level was significantly higher (50.24±8.52 IU/L) in patients with Mycoplasma infection than that in those with other diseases (19.46±1.39 IU/L, p<0.05). The study shows that in patients with only fever who are difficult to diagnose, serum ADA levels substantially aid the diagnosis of scrub typhus. Ed:- please consider carefully