Prevalence of Haplorchis taichui among humans and fish in Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR

Sohn, W.M.,Yong, T.S.,Eom, K.S.,Min, D.Y.,Lee, D.,Jung, B.K.,Banouvong, V.,Insisiengmay, B.,Phommasack, B.,Rim, H.J.,Chai, J.Y. Verlag für Recht und Gesellschaft ; Elsevier 2014 Acta tropica Vol.136 No.-

This study confirmed the prevalence of the intestinal fluke Haplorchis taichui (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) among people and fish in Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR. Fecal specimens were collected from 559 riparian people (229 males and 330 females), residing in 4 Districts (Luang Prabang, Xieng Ngeun, Pak Ou, and Nam Bak) and were examined by the Kato-Katz fecal smear technique. The overall helminth egg positive rate was 64.9%. The positive rate for small trematode eggs (STE), which may include H. taichui and other heterophyids, Opisthorchis viverrini, and lecithodendriids, was 15.2%. For recovery of adult helminths, 10 STE-positive people were treated with 40mg/kg praziquantel and 15mg/kg pyrantel pamoate, and then purged. Mixed infections with 3 Haplorchis species (H. taichui, H. pumilio, and H. yokogawai), a species of cestode (Taenia saginata), and several species of nematodes including Enterobius vermicularis and hookworms were found. The worm load for trematodes was exclusively high for H. taichui with an average of 7691 specimens per infected person, followed by H. yokogawai (8.3 specimens) and H. pumilio (4.1 specimens). Out of 207 freshwater fish (17 species) purchased in a market in Luang Prabang District, 138 (67%) harboured H. taichui metacercariae (metacercarial burden per fish; 520). Lower prevalence of fish and lower metacercarial density were observed for H. yokogawai (52% and 50 per fish, respectively) and H. pumilio (18% and 3 per fish, respectively). STE found in the surveyed population of Luang Prabang Province were verified to be those of intestinal fukes, particularly H. taichui.

Induction of Cell Death in Human Macrophages by a Highly Virulent Korean Isolate of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> and the Virulent Strain H37Rv

Sohn, H.,Lee, K.-S.,Kim, S.-Y.,Shin, D.-M.,Shin, S.-J.,Jo, E.-K.,Park, J.-K.,Kim, H.-J. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2009 Scandinavian journal of immunology Vol.69 No.1

<P>Abstract</P><P>Recent studies have suggested that virulent strains of <I>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</I> induce apoptosis in macrophages less often than do attenuated strains. K-strain, which belongs to the Beijing family, is the most frequently isolated clinical strain of <I>M. tuberculosis</I> in Korea. In this study, we investigated the differential induction of cell death in human monocytic THP-1 cells by K-strain and H37Rv, a virulent but laboratory-adapted strain of <I>M. tuberculosis</I>. Although no significant difference in growth rate was observed between the cells exposed to K-strain and those exposed to H37Rv, the levels of protective cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-&agr;, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-12p40 were lower in K-strain-infected cells than in H37Rv-infected cells. Cell viability assays showed that both K-strain and H37Rv, but not heat- or streptomycin-killed bacteria, induced THP-1 cell death in a TNF-independent manner. In contrast, double staining with fluorochrome-labelled inhibitors of caspase and propidium iodide and lactate dehydrogenase release assays revealed that K-strain induced significantly higher levels of necrotic cell death, rather than apoptosis, in THP-1 cells than did H37Rv. Anti-apoptotic <I>Bcl-2</I>, <I>Mcl-1</I>, <I>Bfl-1</I> and <I>Bcl-xL</I> in the cells were significantly upregulated following infection with K-strain compared with H37Rv, whereas <I>Bax</I> was slightly upregulated in response to infection with both H37Rv and K-strain. These results suggest that the highly virulent K-strain keeps cellular apoptosis as a host defense mechanism to a minimum and induces necrosis in macrophages.</P>

Predictive risk factors for Listeria monocytogenes meningitis compared to pneumococcal meningitis: a multicenter case–control study

Lim, S.,Chung, D. R.,Kim, Y. S.,Sohn, K. M.,Kang, S. J.,Jung, S. I.,Kim, S. W.,Chang, H. H.,Lee, S. S.,Bae, I. G. Springer Science + Business Media 2017 Infection Vol.45 No.1

<P>Patients with a prior history of receiving immunosuppressive therapy within 1 month and chronic liver disease have 8.1-fold and 5-fold increased risk of meningitis by L. monocytogenes compared to S. pneumoniae, respectively.</P>

Lipid emulsion attenuates apoptosis induced by a toxic dose of bupivacaine in H9c2 rat cardiomyoblast cells

Ok, S-H,Yu, J,Lee, Y,Cho, H,Shin, I-W,Sohn, J-T Scientific & Medical Division,Macmillan Press 2016 Human & experimental toxicology Vol.35 No.9

<P>The goal of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of lipid emulsion on apoptosis induced by a toxic dose of bupivacaine (BPV) in H9c2 rat cardiomyoblast cell lines. The effect of lipid emulsion on the decreased cell viability and count induced by BPV or mepivacaine (MPV) in the H9c2 cells was assessed using an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay or a cell count assay. The effect of BPV or lipid emulsion combined with BPV on cleaved caspase 3, caspase 8, and Bax in H9c2 cells was investigated using Western blotting. A terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to detect apoptosis of H9c2 cells treated with BPV alone or lipid emulsion combined with BPV. The magnitude of lipid emulsion-mediated attenuation of decreased cell viability induced by BPV was higher than that of lipid emulsion-mediated attenuation of decreased cell viability induced by MPV. Lipid emulsion attenuated the increases in cleaved caspase 3, caspase 8 and Bax induced by BPV. Lipid emulsion attenuated the increases in TUNEL-positive cells induced by BPV. These results suggest that lipid emulsion attenuates a toxic dose of BPV-induced apoptosis via inhibition of the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. The protective effect of lipid emulsion may be partially associated with the relatively high lipid solubility of BPV.</P>

Effect of Tm3+ on the Strong Magnetic Anisotropy in the High-Tc Superconductor TmBa2Cu3Oy

J. H. Lee,김영철,D. Ahmad,김동진,정대영,I. S. Park,최민석,M. H. Sohn,장민수,Rock-Kil Ko,S. S. Ahn 한국물리학회 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.50 No.4

The rare-earth superconductor TmBa2Cu3Ox(TmBCO) shows strong anisotropies in both para- magnetism and superconductivity. We discussed the eect of Tm3+ on the strong anisotropies of TmBCO. The magnetization (M) of TmBCO above the critical temperature (Tc) is very well described by the Brillouin function BJ (g¹BB=kBT) with J = 6, meaning that the paramagnetic signal of TmBCO is mainly generated from Tm3+ ions. The anisotropy of the magnetization values for T > Tc appears to be much stronger than that of YBCO. This can be explained by spin-orbit coupling of the two unpaired electrons of the Tm3+ ions in noncubic symmetry orbitals. From the superconducting signal below Tc, an anisotropy of the critical current density (Jcjj < Jc?) has been observed, where Jcjj and Jc? are the critical current densities measured under a .eld applied parallel to the c-axis (Hjj) and a .eld applied parallel to the ab-plane (H?), respectively. The super- conducting anisotropy can be explained by the local .eld intensity on the Cu-O planes depending on the spin alignment direction of the two unpaired electrons of the Tm3+ ion determined by H. In addition, Jc?(H) for H > 20 kOe increased a little as H increased, showing non-collective °ux pinning behavior. This means that the Tm3+ ions under H? serve as pinning centers in high .elds.ame=JP0

Modeling and simulation of HTS cables for scattering parameter analysis

Bang, S.S.,Lee, G.S.,Kwon, G.Y.,Lee, Y.H.,Chang, S.J.,Lee, C.K.,Sohn, S.,Park, K.,Shin, Y.J. North-Holland 2016 Physica. C, Superconductivity Vol.530 No.-

<P>Most of modeling and simulation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cables are inadequate for high frequency analysis since focus of the simulation's frequency is fundamental frequency of the power grid, which does not reflect transient characteristic. However, high frequency analysis is essential process to research the HTS cables transient for protection and diagnosis of the HTS cables. Thus, this paper proposes a new approach for modeling and simulation of HTS cables to derive the scattering parameter (S-parameter), an effective high frequency analysis, for transient wave propagation characteristics in high frequency range. The parameters sweeping method is used to validate the simulation results to the measured data given by a network analyzer (NA). This paper also presents the effects of the cable-to-NA connector in order to minimize the error between the simulated and the measured data under ambient and superconductive conditions. Based on the proposed modeling and simulation technique, S-parameters of long-distance HTS cables can be accurately derived in wide range of frequency. The results of proposed modeling and simulation can yield the characteristics of the HTS cables and will contribute to analyze the HTS cables. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Tat-PRAS40 prevent hippocampal HT-22 cell death and oxidative stress induced animal brain ischemic insults

Shin, M.J.,Kim, D.W.,Jo, H.S.,Cho, S.B.,Park, J.H.,Lee, C.H.,Yeo, E.J.,Choi, Y.J.,Kim, J.A.,Hwang, J.S.,Sohn, E.J.,Jeong, J.H.,Kim, D.S.,Kwon, H.Y.,Cho, Y.J.,Lee, K.,Han, K.H.,Park, J.,Eum, W.S.,Choi, Pergamon ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2016 FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE Vol.97 No.-

Proline rich Akt substrate (PRAS40) is a component of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and is known to play an important role against reactive oxygen species-induced cell death. However, the precise function of PRAS40 in ischemia remains unclear. Thus, we investigated whether Tat-PRAS40, a cell-permeable fusion protein, has a protective function against oxidative stress-induced hippocampal neuronal (HT-22) cell death in an animal model of ischemia. We showed that Tat-PRAS40 transduced into HT-22 cells, and significantly protected against cell death by reducing the levels of H<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB> and derived reactive species, and DNA fragmentation as well as via the regulation of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase 3 expression levels in H<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>2</SUB> treated cells. Also, we showed that transduced Tat-PARS40 protein markedly increased phosphorylated RRAS40 expression levels and 14-3-3σ complex via the Akt signaling pathway. In an animal ischemia model, Tat-PRAS40 effectively transduced into the hippocampus in animal brain and significantly protected against neuronal cell death in the CA1 region. We showed that Tat-PRAS40 protein effectively transduced into hippocampal neuronal cells and markedly protected against neuronal cell damage. Therefore, we suggest that Tat-PRAS40 protein may be used as a therapeutic protein for ischemia and oxidative stress-induced brain disorders.

Optimal Dietary Ratio of Spray Dried Plasma Protein (SDPP) and Dried Porcine Solubles (DPS) in Improving Growth Performance and Immune Status in Pigs Weaned at 21 Days of Age

Kim, J.D.,Hyun, Y.,Sohn, K.S.,Kim, T.J.,Woo, H.J.,Han, In K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.3

An experiment was conducted to determine the optimal inclusion ratio of spray dried plasma protein (SDPP) and dried porcine solubles (DPS) for maximizing growth and improving immunity in weaned pigs. One hundred-fifty male (barrow) pigs were allotted in a completely randomized block design. Treatments were as follows: 1) control (6% SDPP), 2) S6D6 (6% SDPP+6% DPS), 3) S6D3 (6% SDPP+3% DPS), 4) S3D6 (3% SDPP+6% DPS) and 5) S3D3 (3% SDPP+3% DPS). Each treatment has 6 replicates with 5 pigs per replicate. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were highest, but not significantly different when pigs were fed a diet contained 6% SDPP and DPS from d 0 to 7 after weaning. Pigs fed the S6D3 diet showed better weight gain and feed intake than other treatments, especially compared with pigs fed S3D6 diet (p<0.05) from d 8 to 21 after weaning. For the overall experimental period, pigs fed the S6D3 diet showed the best improvement in ADG and ADFI. The digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were higher in pigs fed the S6D6 diet than other diets from d 0 to 7 after weaning. However, pigs fed S6D3 diet showed higher DM, CP and essential amino acids (except methionine and arginine) digestibilities than pigs fed other diets from d 8 to 21 after weaning, although there was no significant difference. From d 8 to 21 after weaning, threonine, valine, isoleucine and leucine digestibilites were higher in S6D6 group, and phenyalanine, histidine, lysine and arginine digestibility were higher in S6D3 group than other groups. The ratio of CD4 and CD8 positive lymphocytes during the overall experimental period was independent of the ratio of SDPP and DPS. However, CD4+:CD8+ ratio was numerically lowered in pigs fed diet the S6D3 diet. Therefore, the present study suggests that an optimal inclusion ratio for maximizing growth performance and maintaining low immune status is 6% of SDPP and 3% of DPS in weaned pigs.

라이신 : DE 비율이 육성된의 성장과 영양소 소화율에 미치는 영향

손광수,김지훈,한인규,정현정 한국축산학회 1999 한국축산학회지 Vol.41 No.4

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of energy:amino acid ratio on growth performance and nutrients digestibilities in growing pigs. A total of 180 growing pigs with an average body weight 15.96 ㎏ were randomly allotted into six dietary treatments in a two × three factorial arrangement (two levels of DE; 3,450 (L) and 3,500 (H) kcal DE/㎏ and three energy:amino acid ratios of 2.9 (L), 3.2 (M), 3.5 (H) ㎎ of lysine/㎉ of DE) to determine the optimum ratio of energy:amino acid ratio. For the determination of ileal digestibility, 24 pigs were subjected to a cannulation surgery and involved in a metabolic trial. ADG was not different among dietary groups except between LL and HH group. No significant difference was found between two energy levels, while high Lys:DE resulted in a significant improvement in ADG. Feed intake was not affected by Lys:DE. Digestibility of proximate nutrients generally were not influenced by dietary treatments. Howver, pigs fed HH diets showed significantly higher CP, CF and GE digestibility compared to pigs fed other diets (P$lt; 0.05). Between energy levels, pigs fed high enrgy showed higher digestibility of CP, CF and GE. Among Lys:DE ratios, only CF digestibility responded to increased Lys:DE ratio. The essential amino acids digestibility did not respond to the increase in lysine level in low energy group, while in high energy group average essential amino acids digestibility was increased as the lysine level increased. Pigs fed HH diets showed sinificantly higher lysine and average essential amino acids digestibility. In regard to non-essential amino acid digestibility, generally pigs fed HH diets showed higher value than pigs fed other diets. Between energy levels, digestibility of amino acids did not respond to the increase in energy content except TYR and GLU. However, pigs fed high Lys:DE diet showed higher digestibility in most amino acids except GLU and PRO. Total amino acids digestibility was higher in pigs fed high Lys:DE diet and this result was not consistent to the result of CP digestibility. Based on the result of this study, the optimum Lys:DE ratio was appeared to be higher 3.5 ㎎ lysine/㎉ DE, which is in close agreement with many recent reports.

Modified iliac screw fixation: technique and clinical application

Sohn, S.,Chung, C. K.,Kim, Y. J.,Kim, C. H.,Park, S. B.,Kim, H. Springer-Verlag 2016 Acta neurochirurgica Vol. No.

<P>A conventional iliac bolt and the S2 alar iliac screw fixation technique (S2AI) are commonly used sacropelvic fixation techniques. However, conventional iliac bolt technique requires a lateral connector and commonly has prominent screw head problems. S2AI reportedly has a high instrument failure rate. We aim to introduce a modified iliac screw fixation technique and to investigate its clinical application in adult patients. The entrance site of the modified iliac screw fixation technique was 1 cm medial and 1 cm caudal from the posterosuperior iliac spine. From 2009 to 2015, ten adult patients underwent sacropelvic fixation with the modified iliac screw fixation technique in our spine clinic. A minimum 12-month clinical and radiographic follow-up was adopted. The mean follow-up period was 30.7 months (12-74 months). Mean number of fixation levels was 7.7 segments (5-10 segments). Postoperatively, the C7 plumb line (SVA) was significantly decreased (P = 0.04). Upon the last X-ray, SVA did not differ between postoperative and the last X-ray (P = 0.1). There was no breakage during our follow-up period. There was no prominent screw head. There were no cases requiring implant removal. The modified iliac screw fixation technique does not cause prominence in the sacral region, and does not require a lateral connector, both of which are necessary when using the classical iliac bolt technique. This technique also avoids the acute angle between the screw head and the shaft of the screw commonly seen in S2AI. The modified iliac screw fixation technique can be an effective alternative for sacropelvic fixation.</P>