An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a public animal exhibit in seoul, Korea, during 2008

This study describes the first recorded outbreak of HPAI in the city of Seoul, in captive birds held in an exhibition for public viewing at a local district office. The index cases were two pheasants, which had been introduced into the exhibit on 24 April, 4 days prior to death, from a store in a local market in Gyeonggi-do. Ducks and chickens from an HPAI outbreak farm, subsequently confirmed on 4 May, had also been held in this store. This outbreak highlights the potential role of local markets in AIV transmission. This outbreak led to considerable public health concern in Korea, however, no human cases were reported. The non-commercial poultry sector needs to be considered in national plans for preparedness and response.

BBQ charcoal as an important source of mercury emission

In this study, the environmental significance of mercury emission has been investigated with respect to the use of the barbecue (BBQ) charcoal. For this purpose, emission gas samples collected from a total of 11 barbecue charcoal products commonly available in the Korean market were analyzed. All of these products consist of both domestic (4 types) and imported products (7 types from three countries). The emission concentration of Hg varied widely from sample to sample ranging from 114 to 496ngm(-3). The amount of Hg emission appeared to be affected by the diverse nature of raw materials and/or the processes involved in their production. In light of the recent reference exposure limits (REL) of Hg, it can be a potential threat to human health. As such, a proper regulation is desirable from a toxicological viewpoint to reduce the potential risk associated with the use of BBQ charcoal.

Nanoelectronic interface for lab-on-a-chip devices

Innovations in microfabricated analytical devices integrated with microelectronic circuits and biological cells show promising results in detection, diagnosis and analysis. Planar metallic microelectrodes are widely used for the electrical interface with the biological cells. Issues with the current microelectrode array design are the difficulty in selective integration with a cell, the size dependency of its impedance and the large amount of noise in the circuit due to this mismatch. It is quite evident that an approach utilising nanotechnology can solve some of these problems by yielding efficient electrical interconnections. The design and development of a planar microelectrode array integrated with vertically aligned nanowires for lab-on-a-chip (LoC) device applications are presented. The nanowire integrated microelectrode arrays for LoC devices show promising results with respect to impedance control due to increased surface area. The authors have fabricated nanowire integrated microelectrode arrays on silicon and flexible polymer substrates using the template method. A high degree of specific growth is achieved by controlling the nanowire synthesis parameters. An attempt has been made to integrate biological cells into the nanowires by culturing endothelial cells onto the microelectrode array.

Clinical outcome prediction in esophageal adenocarcinoma based on tumor and germ-line single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in DNA-repair pathways

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Background: Germ-line SNPs in DNA repair enzymes are studied as predictive factors in various cancers. More rarely studied, however, is the presence of SNPs in tumor cells and how they relate to both germ-line SNPs as well as outcome. We explored the presence of and relationship between germ-line and tumor SNPs in esophageal adenocarcinoma using two systems: (1) Cell lines, to determine whether loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occurs near DNA repair genes, and for genotyping; (2) Patient samples, to determine whether SNPs differ between normal and tumor mucosa. Methods: (1) For LOH analysis, we examined three short tandem repeat (STR) loci on 19q13.2- 13.3 (near DNA-repair genes XPD, ERCC1, and XRCC1) in four esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines. (The STR markers have a false positive rate of <10-3 for LOH when all three demonstrate homozygosity.) Then, using a real-time PCR allelic discrimination TaqMan assay (AB), we analyzed two SNPs of interest in these cell lines. (2) We performed SNP analysis on tumor and adjacent normal mucosa from paraffin-embedded esophageal specimens taken at resection in patients with T3N0–1 esophageal adenocarcinoma who received preoperative cisplatin, paclitaxel, gefitinib and radiotherapy followed by transhiatal resection. Results: (1) Cell lines: SEG1 and BiC1 were consistent with LOH, showing a single-allele pattern at XPD 751 (C allele) and XPD 312 (G allele). TE7 and SKGT4 did not have LOH. (2) Tumor and normal tissue: We obtained data on two patients for XPD 751. Genotypes in normal mucosa were heterozygous for one patient and homozygous at the minor allele (Q/Q) for the second patient. Genotypes in tumor were identical to those in normal tissue. Conclusions: Our cell line data shows that LOH occurs in esophageal tumor cells at DNA-repair genes of interest. Our data in two patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma did not demonstrate a difference at XPD 751 between tumor and normal tissue. Given the technical success and encouraging data from this work, we plan to evaluate tissue from ∼90 patients who underwent preoperative cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery (as part of completed ECOG trial E1201).

[Table: see text]

Clinical outcome of glioblastoma multiforme patients with long-term survival

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Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients generally have a dismal prognosis with average survival of one year. Long-term survival of 3 years or more is rare and the clinical outcome of these patients has been poorly studied. Methods: Retrospective review of patients surviving 3 years or longer following diagnosis of GBM at our institution between 1985 and 2003. Clinical characteristics and long-term outcome were reviewed. Pathology was confirmed at our institution for all patients. Results: 39 long-term survivors of GBM were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 47 years (range: 14 - 69 years). Fifteen patients (pts) were older than 55 at time of diagnosis, and 5 were over 60. Presenting symptoms were headaches (56%), seizures (28%), hemiparesis (12%), aphasia (17%) or confusion (5%). Median KPS at diagnosis was 90 (range: 50–100). One patient (4%) underwent biopsy and X patients each (48%) underwent complete resection and incomplete resections. All patients received focal radiation therapy (RT) with a median dose of 5940 cGy (range: 4500 - 6120 cGy); 7 received concurrent temozolomide. Adjuvant chemotherapy in 35 pts consisted of temozolomide (54%), BCNU (38%), intra-arterial cisplatin (4%), or PCV (4%). Estimated median survival was 6.16 years (range: 3.1 - 18.2). After initial treatment, 11 pts had continuous clinical and radiographic remission, 28 relapsed, and 12 died. Median KPS at last follow-up was 70 (range 40 - 100). However, 19 pts (49%) developed delayed treatment-related complications at a median of 2.7 years (range: 1 -12 years) from initial diagnosis. Six (15%) developed RT necrosis (none of whom received concurrent temozolomide), 12 (31%) developed a subcortical dementia with associated leukoencephalopathy, and 9 (23%) developed strokes thought to be related to prior treatment. Conclusions: Long-term GBM survivors remain rare but occur in all age groups. These patients have a high risk of developing clinically significant long-term complications of their treatment.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Botulinum toxin A for the management of vulvodynia

Clinically, botulinum toxin A blocks the cholinergic innervation of the target tissue. Recently, it has been proved effective not only at a neuromuscular junction but also within parasympathetic or sympathetic neural synapses. Seven women with pain on genitalia that could not be controlled with conventional pain managements were enrolled in this study. Twenty to 40 U of botulinum toxin A were used in each injection. Injection sites were the vestibule, levator ani muscle or the perineal body. Repeat injections were administered every 2 weeks if the patient's symptoms had not fully subsided. In all patients, pain had disappeared with botulinum toxin A injections. Five patients needed to be injected twice; the other two patients needed only one injection. We did not observe complications related to botulinum toxin A injections, such as pain, hemorrhage, infection, muscle paralysis or other complications. The subjective pain score improved from 8.3 to 1.4, and no one has experienced a recurrence (the follow-up period was four to 24 months, with a mean follow-up of 11.6 months). Botulinum toxin A is effective in blocking nociception. Even though further investigation and well-controlled study will be necessary, we suggest that the botulinum toxin therapy would be useful and safe in managing vulvodynia of muscular or neuroinflammatory origins.

Simulation analyses to evaluate alternative control strategies for the 2002 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the Republic of Korea

Using the stochastic and spatial simulation model of between-farm spread of disease, InterSpread Plus, we evaluated the effect of alternative strategies for controlling the 2002 epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Republic of Korea. InterSpread Plus was parameterised to simulate epidemics of FMD in the population of farms containing susceptible animal species in the Korean counties of Yongin, Icheon, Pyongtaek, Anseong, Eumseong, Asan, Cheonan, and Jincheon. The starting point of our analyses was the simulation of a reference strategy, which approximated the real epidemic. The results of simulations of alternative epidemic-control strategies were compared with this reference strategy. Ring vaccination (when used with either limited or extended pre-emptive depopulation) reduced both the size and variability of the predicted number of infected farms. Reducing the time between disease incursion and commencement of controls had the greatest effect on reducing the predicted number of infected farms.

Virus Spread Pattern within Infected Chicken Farms using Regression Model: the 2003-2004 HPAI Epidemic in the Republic of Korea

During the 2003-2004 epidemic in Korea, the infection time and within-farm spread pattern of virus were analysed for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak on chicken farms using regression models based on epidemiological data. Mortality observed on a given day had a positive linear association with time after initial infection. HPAI spread more rapidly on farms managed by employees and on farms with larger numbers of chicken houses in use. The disease spread more rapidly among layer chickens than among broilers. Using statistical model, we found that farmers recognize the abnormally high mortality resulting from HPAI approximately 5 days after infection. Without any intervention, entire flocks would die within 12 days of introduction of the HPAI virus to the infected farm.