Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is widely used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. DBS surgery is usually performed with the patient under local anesthesia (LA). ...However, a number of patients do not tolerate LA due to anxiety or severe pain. These patients require surgery under sedation or general anesthesia. Unfortunately, anesthetic drugs interfere with the intraoperative microelectrode recordings. A debate regarding the usefulness of sedation or general anesthesia during DBS surgery is still in progress. In this study, we evaluated whether the differences in anesthetic methods affect STN single-unit activity and movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Eight patients underwent surgery to implant bilateral STN DBS electrodes. Our study compares STN single-unit activity under both LA and monitored anesthesia care (MAC) in the same patients as well as movement symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The primary results revealed no significant difference in the mean firing rate of STN single-unit activity under LA and MAC. However, there were differences in the spike characteristics and firing patterns of STN activity between the two anesthetic methods. These findings contribute valuable insight into the effects of different anesthetic methods on STN single-unit activity for precise electrode localization during DBS surgery.
Clostridium difficile is one of the most common causes of nosocomial diarrhea, and diagnostic methods for detecting C. difficile infection have shifted from conventional to more recent molecular ...techniques. This study aimed to compare the performance of two molecular assays (Meridian Illumigene™ and AdvanSure CD real-time PCR) in detecting C. difficile using a toxigenic culture as a reference standard.
This study was conducted at Kyung Hee University Hospital, a tertiary university teaching hospital in Seoul, Korea, from July 2010 to February 2011. The study used 203 fresh diarrheal stools. All fecal specimens were immediately tested by culture and the VIDAS C. difficile toxin A & B assay using an automated VIDAS immunoanalyzer. The remainder was stored at -70°C until required for AdvanSure CD real-time polymerase chain reaction and Illumigene™. The alcohol shock procedure was then performed. Aliquots were inoculated directly on C. difficile-selective agar and blood agar and then incubated in an anaerobic jar for 48 h at 35°C. The Rapid ID 32 A test was used for specifying colonies on plates. The AdvanSure CD real-time PCR was used to detect the tcdA and tcdB gene, and PCR Illumigene™ kits were used to detect the tcdA gene of the pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) harboring toxigenic C. difficile.
Of 203 clinical samples, 197 showed identical results between the two molecular assays, with a concordance rate of 97.0%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were as follows: Illumigene: 92.3, 99.4, 96.0, and 98.9, respectively; AdvanSure CD real-time PCR: 84.6, 98.3, 88.0, and 97.8, respectively.
Both molecular assays demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, both molecular assays showed comparable results to those of a toxigenic culture, albeit with a slight decrease in test sensitivity and specificity.
Background/Aims: Microscopic colitis is characterized by chronic watery diarrhea with specific pathological changes that can be diagnosed by microscopic examination. We performed immunohistochemical ...analysis of proinflammatory cytokines to investigate the pathogenic mechanism of microscopic colitis. Methods: This study consisted of six patients with lymphocytic colitis, six patients with collagenous colitis, and six patients with functional diarrhea but normal pathology. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the colonic mucosal biopsies to assess the expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2, interleukin-17, nuclear factor-κB, interferon-γ, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-α. We compared the quantity score of immunohistochemical staining among the groups. Results: The microscopic colitis group showed significantly higher expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2, interleukin-17, nuclear factor-κB, and interferon-γ compared with the control group. Cytokine expression was similar between collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis. However, the expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2 was higher in collagenous colitis. Conclusions: Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-17 and interferon-γ, are highly expressed in microscopic colitis. The expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2 was higher in collagenous colitis than in lymphocytic colitis. This study is the first on interleukin-17 expression in microscopic colitis patients. (Gut Liver 2015;9:381-387)
Sixty-four silicified fossil woods were collected from the Early Miocene Upper Coal-bearing Formation of Janggi Group in Pohang City, the Korean Peninsula. Out of them 23 specimens were identified as ...gymnosperms and 27 specimens as dicotyledons. The taxa identified include Picea palaeomaximowiczii Watari, Taxodioxylon cunninghamioides (Watari) Watari, T. sequoianum (Merckl.) Gothan, Fagus hondoensis (Watari) Watari, Cercidiphyllum sp., Camellia japonoxyla Suzuki et Terada, Distylium chiharu-hirayae Suzuki et Terada, Aesculus sp., Wataria miocenica (Watari) Terada et Suzuki and W. parvipora Terada et Suzuki. AH of these species are reported for the first time from the Tertiary basins of Korea. Compared with those of the Miocene Formations in Japan, most taxa we found are common between the paleo-floras in Korea and Japan during the Early to Middle Miocene.
Background/Aims: Microscopic colitis is characterized by chronic watery diarrhea with specific pathological changes that can be diagnosed by microscopic examination. We performed immunohistochemical ...analysis of proinflammatory cytokines to investigate the pathogenic mechanism of microscopic colitis. Methods: This study consisted of six patients with lymphocytic colitis, six patients with collagenous colitis, and six patients with functional diarrhea but normal pathology. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the colonic mucosal biopsies to assess the expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2, interleukin-17, nuclear factor-κB, interferon-γ, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-α. We compared the quantity score of immunohistochemical staining among the groups. Results: The microscopic colitis group showed significantly higher expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2, interleukin-17, nuclear factor-κB, and interferon-γ compared with the control group. Cytokine expression was similar between collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis. However, the expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2 was higher in collagenous colitis. Conclusions: Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-17 and interferon-γ, are highly expressed in microscopic colitis. The expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2 was higher in collagenous colitis than in lymphocytic colitis. This study is the first on interleukin-17 expression in microscopic colitis patients. (Gut Liver 2015;9:381-387)
Cytokinesis is the division of the cytoplasm and its separation into two daughter cells. Cell plate growth and cytokinesis appear to require callose, but direct functional evidence is still lacking. ...To determine the role of callose and its synthesis during cytokinesis, we identified and characterized mutants in many members of the GLUCAN SYNTHASE-LIKE (GSL; or CALLOSE SYNTHASE) gene family in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Most gsl mutants (gsl1-gsl7, gsl9, gsl11, and gsl12) exhibited roughly normal seedling growth and development. However, mutations in GSL8, which were previously reported to be gametophytic lethal, were found to produce seedlings with pleiotropic defects during embryogenesis and early vegetative growth. We found cell wall stubs, two nuclei in one cell, and other defects in cell division in homozygous gsl8 insertional alleles. In addition, gsl8 mutants and inducible RNA interference lines of GSL8 showed reduced callose deposition at cell plates and/or new cell walls. Together, these data show that the GSL8 gene encodes a putative callose synthase required for cytokinesis and seedling maturation. In addition, gsl8 mutants disrupt cellular and tissue-level patterning, as shown by the presence of clusters of stomata in direct contact and by islands of excessive cell proliferation in the developing epidermis. Thus, GSL8 is required for patterning as well as cytokinesis during Arabidopsis development.
PDF
