Prevalence of Allergic Diseases among Korean School-age Children: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nationwide prevalence of childhood asthma, eczema and other allergic diseases in Korean school-age children (8-11 yr old) and to assess the difference between residential areas. Among 6,279 elementary schools, 427 schools were randomly selected according to residential area (metropolitan, provincial, rural, and industrial area) by the cluster sampling method. Parents of students completed a modified Korean version of a questionnaire formulated by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Among 50,200 subjects, 31,026 (61.8%) responded, and 30,893 (99.6%) were analyzed. The 12-month prevalence of wheeze, flexural rash, and allergic rhinitis symptoms were 4.8%, 15.3%, and 32.9%, respectively. The prevalence of diagnosis of allergic diseases in boys was higher than that in girls, with the exception of eczema. In both boys and girls, the difference of the prevalence of allergic diseases among industrial, metropolitan and provincial areas was not statistically significant, but the differences between rural area and other areas were significant. Our results support the importance of contextual effect associated with residential area as causative agents of allergic diseases among Korean school-age children

Necrotizing fasciitis involving the chest and abdominal wall caused by Raoultella planticola

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Raoultella planticola </it>was originally considered to be a member of environmental <it>Klebsiella</it>. The clinical significance of <it>R. planticola </it>is still not well known.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We describe the first case of necrotizing fasciitis involving the chest and abdominal wall caused by <it>R. planticola</it>. The identity of the organism was confirmed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The patient was successfully treated with the appropriate antibiotics combined with operative drainage and debridement.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>R. planticola </it>had been described as environmental species, but should be suspected in extensive necrotizing fasciitis after minor trauma in mild to moderate immunocompromised patients.</p

Cystic lymphangioma of the pancreas

Lymphangioma is a benign form of neoplasm arising from the lymphatic system. It occurs as a result of congenital malformations of the lymphatics leading to the obstruction of local lymph flow and the development of lymphangiectasia. Lymphangiomas are common in pediatric patients, in the soft tissues of the neck and the axillae, but lymphangioma of the pancreas is extremely rare, accounting for less than 1% of these tumors. It occurs more frequently in females and is often located in the distal pancreas. Although extremely rare, cystic lymphangioma of the pancreas should be taken into consideration as a differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic or retroperitoneal lesions, especially in women. Herein, we report on a case of cystic lymphangioma of the distal pancreas in a 37-year-old woman who was treated with complete surgical resection with a review of the literature

Acute Interstitial Pneumonia in Siblings: A Case Report

Acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) is a rapidly progressive condition of unknown cause that occurs in a previously healthy individual and produces the histologic findings of diffuse alveolar damage. Since the term AIP was first introduced in 1986, there have been very few case reports of AIP in children. Here we present a case of AIP in a 3-yr-old girl whose other two siblings showed similar radiologic findings. The patient was confirmed to have AIP from autopsy showing histological findings of diffuse alveolar damage and proliferation of fibroblasts. Her 3-yr-old brother was also clinically and radiologically highly suspected as having AIP, and the other asymptomatic 8-yr-old sister was radiologically suspected as having AIP

A Lactate-Induced Response to Hypoxia

SUMMARY Organisms must be able to respond to low oxygen in a number of homeostatic and pathological contexts. Regulation of hypoxic responses via the hypoxiainducible factor (HIF) is well established, but evidence indicates that other, HIF-independent mechanisms are also involved. Here, we report a hypoxic response that depends on the accumulation of lactate, a metabolite whose production increases in hypoxic conditions. We find that the NDRG3 protein is degraded in a PHD2/VHL-dependent manner in normoxia but is protected from destruction by binding to lactate that accumulates under hypoxia. The stabilized NDRG3 protein binds c-Raf to mediate hypoxia-induced activation of Raf-ERK pathway, promoting angiogenesis and cell growth. Inhibiting cellular lactate production abolishes the NDRG3-mediated hypoxia responses. Our study, therefore, elucidates the molecular basis for lactate-induced hypoxia signaling, which can be exploited for the development of therapies targeting hypoxia-induced diseases

Selective Leaching of Zinc from Spent Zinc-Carbon Battery with Ammoniacal Ammonium Carbonate

This paper describes the ammoniacal ammonium carbonate leaching behavior of zinc and manganese from spent zinc-carbon batteries. For selective extraction of Zn from the spent zinc-carbon battery, leaching tests were carried out as a function of process parameters such as concentration of (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 , ammonia, temperature, time and pulp density. Physical methods of separation such as crushing was applied to reduce the material to 10-20 mm size followed by magnetic separation to separate iron with a recovery about 10 mass% leaving most of Zn and Mn in the non-magnetic fraction. Non-magnetic fraction was further subjected to sieving to separate 2.46 mm over and under size fractions. The oversize material was processed by eddy current separation to recover zinc sheet and carbon rods and plastics. The under size material with chemical composition of Zn 15.5 mass%, Mn 17.5 mass%, and Fe 1.4 mass% was used for leaching studies. Under the optimum leaching conditions (2.0 kmol/m 3 (NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 and 4.0 kmol/m 3 ammonia, 40 C, 100 g/L pulp density, 30 min and 250 rpm), the leaching efficiency of zinc and manganese was 80.2% and less than 0.1%, respectively, indicating the selective recovery of zinc from the spent zinc-carbon battery. An overall zinc recovery is about 88%

Neighborhood Landscape Spatial Patterns and Land Surface Temperature: An Empirical Study on Single-Family Residential Areas in Austin, Texas

Rapid urbanization has accelerated land use and land cover changes, and generated the urban heat island effect (UHI). Previous studies have reported positive effects of neighborhood landscapes on mitigating urban surface temperatures. However, the influence of neighborhood landscape spatial patterns on enhancing cooling effects has not yet been fully investigated. The main objective of this study was to assess the relationships between neighborhood landscape spatial patterns and land surface temperatures (LST) by using multi-regression models considering spatial autocorrelation issues. To measure the influence of neighborhood landscape spatial patterns on LST, this study analyzed neighborhood environments of 15,862 single-family houses in Austin, Texas, USA. Using aerial photos, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing, FRAGSTATS was employed to calculate values of several landscape indices used to measure neighborhood landscape spatial patterns. After controlling for the spatial autocorrelation effect, results showed that larger and better-connected landscape spatial patterns were positively correlated with lower LST values in neighborhoods, while more fragmented and isolated neighborhood landscape patterns were negatively related to the reduction of LST

Pseudoinvasion in an Adenomatous Polyp of the Colon Mimicking Invasive Colon Cancer

Pseudoinvasion or pseudocarcinomatous invasion in an adenomatous polyp of the colon can be unfamiliar to an endoscopist. Pseudoinvasion in an adenomatous polyp represents prolapse of the adenomatous epithelium into its stalk. In most cases its morphology does not differ from of general adenomatous polyps, but in some cases it can morphologically mimic a malignant polyp with submucosal invasion due to mass-like lesioning of its stalk. This makes it difficult for endoscopists to differentiate pseudoinvasion in an adenoma from an invasive carcinoma by conventional endoscopy; instead, endoscopic ultrasonography can provide useful information for differentiating these conditions. We report on an 82-year-old man who presented with a large pedunculated polyp with a thick stalk in the sigmoid colon, which mimicked a submucosal invasive carcinoma. The patient was diagnosed with pseudoinvasion in an adenomatous polyp after segmental resection of the sigmoid colon

FUEL PERFORMANCE CODE COSMOS FOR ANALYSIS OF LWR UO2 AND MOX FUEL

The paper briefs a fuel performance code, COSMOS, which can be utilized for an analysis of the thermal behavior and fission gas release of fuel, up to a high burnup. Of particular concern are the models for the fuel thermal conductivity, the fission gas release, and the cladding corrosion and creep in UO2 fuel. In addition, the code was developed so as to consider the inhomogeneity of MOX fuel, which requires restructuring the thermal conductivity and fission gas release models. These improvements enhanced COSMOS&apos;s precision for predicting the in-pile behavior of MOX fuel. The COSMOS code also extends its applicability to the instrumented fuel test in a research reactor. The various in-pile test results were analyzed and compared with the code&apos;s prediction. The database consists of the UO2 irradiation test up to an ultra-high burnup, power ramp test of MOX fuel, and instrumented MOX fuel test in a research reactor after base irradiation in a commercial reactor. The comparisons demonstrated that the COSMOS code predicted the in-pile behaviors well, such as the fuel temperature, rod internal pressure, fission gas release, and cladding properties of MOX and UO2 fuel. This sufficient accuracy reveals that the COSMOS can be utilized by both fuel vendors for fuel design, and license organizations for an understanding of fuel in-pile behaviors.close