Diffusion-Weighted MRI in Recurrent Wernicke's Encephalopathy: a Remarkable Cerebellar Lesion

We report unusual MRI findings (including those from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)) in a patient with recurrent Wernicke's encephalopathy with a remarkable cerebellar lesion. DWI showed high signal intensities in the superior portion of the cerebellar hemisphere and vermis area. After thiamine administration, clinical symptoms improved and the lesions with high signal intensities disappeared on follow-up DWI

Analysis of Exercise Intensity Based on Cardiorespiratory Response in a Virtual Reality-Based Exercise Program for Firefighter Physical Fitness Enhancement

OBJECTIVES Current regulations for Korean firefighters primarily emphasize exercise during working hours without specifying particular exercise methods. This study aims to evaluate the exercise intensity of the stepwise Korean Firefighter Fitness Program (KFFP) using Kinect-based mixed reality device (Virtual mate, VM), considering the demanding 24-hour shift work and high physical strength requirements. The objective is to assess its potential as one of the exercise methods and provide valuable insights. METHODS CResearchers recruited 30 participants to evaluate the exercise intensity based on the cardiopulmonary responses induced by the Stepwise Korean Firefighter Fitness Program (KFFP) using Virtual Mate (VM). Initially, the participants' resting heart rate, maximum heart rate (HRmax), and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) were measured. Subsequently, researchers monitored the participants' cardiopulmonary responses by employing portable gas analyzers and wireless heart rate monitors while implementing the Stepwise KFFP with VM. Exercise intensity related to cardiopulmonary responses was recorded using both absolute parameters (VO2, HR) and relative parameters (%VO2max, %HRR, %HR). Researchers utilized repeated measures analysis of variance for statistical analysis. RESULTS The analysis of the stepwise KFFP using VM showed significant increases all parameters as the program advanced(p<.001). VO2 increased from around 19.4 ml/kg/min in Step 1 to approximately 22.8 ml/kg/min in Step 3. Similarly, %HRR rose from roughly 40.6% in Step 1 to about 53.9% in Step 3. CONCLUSIONS Upon evaluating the stepwise KFFP based on the exercise intensity levels recommended by ACSM, it is confirmed that the stepwise KFFP using VM comprises both moderate-intensity and highintensity exercises. This approach is deemed effective and can serve as a fitness management method for firefighters working in 24-hour shift patterns that demand high fitness levels

Differences in salient beliefs associated with voluntary exercise training among South Korean firefighters before and after COVID-19

Background : Participating in voluntary exercise training is important to meet occupational requirements as well as firefighters’ health and safety. The purpose of this study is to identify salient beliefs associated with voluntary exercise training among firefighters in the pandemic era by comparing outcomes with those from a previous elicitation study, which was carried out before the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods : A total of 57 firefighters are recruited to participate in an elicitation study. Participants are requested to respond to six open-ended questions related to voluntary exercise training. Content analysis is used to create categories that combine similar factors in each belief. Beliefs mentioned by more than 30% of participants are used for comparison with the results of the previous research. Results : “Improves my physical ability” (n = 44) and “cause injury” (n = 17) are identified as behavioral beliefs in the present study, whereas “makes me tired” and “takes too much time” were also elicited in Lee’s study. Normative beliefs are “family members” (n = 45) and “colleagues” (n = 27) and these results are consistent with those in Lee’s study. “Lack of time” (n = 28), “exercise facilities” (n = 19), and “COVID-19” (n = 19) are elicited as control beliefs in the present study, whereas “physical condition” (n = 21) and “exercise partners” (n = 14) were elicited as other control beliefs, and “COVID-19” was not mentioned in Lee’s study. Conclusion : This study can contribute valuable information about salient beliefs associated with exercise training behavior among firefighters, particularly under pandemic conditions. Future researchers should develop tailored exercise training programs for firefighters based on current elicited beliefs.This research was supported by the Emergency Response to Disaster sites Research and Development Program funded by National Fire Agency(20013968)

The diagnostic application of targeted re-sequencing in Korean patients with retinitis pigmentosa

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background Identification of the causative genes of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is important for the clinical care of patients with RP. However, a comprehensive genetic study has not been performed in Korean RP patients. Moreover, the genetic heterogeneity found in sensorineural genetic disorders makes identification of pathogenic mutations challenging. Therefore, high throughput genetic testing using massively parallel sequencing is needed. Results Sixty-two Korean patients with nonsyndromic RP (46 patients from 18 families and 16 simplex cases) who consented to molecular genetic testing were recruited in this study and targeted exome sequencing was applied on 53 RP-related genes. Causal variants were characterised by selecting exonic and splicing variants, selecting variants with low allele frequency (below 1 %), and discarding the remaining variants with quality below 20. The variants were additionally confirmed by an inheritance pattern and cosegregation test of the families, and the rest of the variants were prioritised using in-silico prediction tools. Finally, causal variants were detected from 10 of 18 familial cases (55.5 %) and 7 of 16 simplex cases (43.7 %) in total. Novel variants were detected in 13 of 20 (65 %) candidate variants. Compound heterozygous variants were found in four of 7 simplex cases. Conclusion Panel-based targeted re-sequencing can be used as an effective molecular diagnostic tool for RP

Molecular Cloning of Plasmodium vivax Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 4

A family of calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) is a unique enzyme which plays crucial roles in intracellular calcium signaling in plants, algae, and protozoa. CDPKs of malaria parasites are known to be key regulators for stage-specific cellular responses to calcium, a widespread secondary messenger that controls the progression of the parasite. In our study, we identified a gene encoding Plasmodium vivax CDPK4 (PvCDPK4) and characterized its molecular property and cellular localization. PvCDPK4 was a typical CDPK which had well-conserved N-terminal kinase domain and C-terminal calmodulin-like structure with 4 EF hand motifs for calcium-binding. The recombinant protein of EF hand domain of PvCDPK4 was expressed in E. coli and a 34 kDa product was obtained. Immunofluorescence assay by confocal laser microscopy revealed that the protein was expressed at the mature schizont of P. vivax. The expression of PvCDPK4-EF in schizont suggests that it may participate in the proliferation or egress process in the life cycle of this parasite

Evaluation of a competitive ELISA for antibody detection against avian influenza virus

Active serologic surveillance is necessary to control the spread of the avian influenza virus (AIV). In this study, we evaluated a commercially-available cELISA in terms of its ability to detect AIV antibodies in the sera of 3,358 animals from twelve species. cELISA detected antibodies against reference H1- through H15-subtype AIV strains without cross reactivity. Furthermore, the cELISA was able to detect antibodies produced following a challenge of the AIV H9N2 subtype in chickens, or following vaccination of the AIV H9 or H5 subtypes in chickens, ducks and geese. Next, we tested the sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA with sera from twelve different animal species, and compared these results with those obtained by the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test, the "gold standard" in AIV sera surveillance, a second commercially-available cELISA (IZS ELISA), or the agar gel precipitation (AGP) test. Compared with the HI test, the sensitivities and specificities of cELISA were 95% and 96% in chicken, 86% and 88% in duck, 97% and 100% in turkey, 100% and 87% in goose, and 91% and 97% in swine, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the cELISA in this study were higher than those of IZS ELISA for the duck, turkey, goose, and grey partridge sera samples. The results of AGP test against duck and turkey sera also showed significant correlation with the results of cELISA (R-value >0.9). In terms of flock sensitivity, the cELISA correlated better with the HI test than with commercially-available indirect ELISAs, with 100% flock sensitivity

Effect of unsupervised Kinect-based mixed reality fitness programs on health-related fitness in men during COVID-19 pandemic: randomized controlled study

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Kinect-based mixed reality (KMR) exercise and unsupervised individual exercise on health-related fitness. A total of 27 participants underwent cardiorespiratory fitness tests for the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to three groups: a KMR group (KMRG), an unsupervised individual group (UIG), or a control group (CG). Pre and post-tests were conducted to measure Maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂max), body composition, upper and lower-body (LB) muscle strength, and endurance. KMRG and UIG attended exercise sessions 3 days per week for 8 weeks. KMRG used the KMR device and UIG used an instructive banner for exercise. All groups maintained their daily routines and submitted diet records every 4 weeks. Results showed that VO₂max, upper-body muscle endurance, and LB muscle endurance of knee extension was increased in KMRG and UIG. LB muscle strength in knee flexion was increased in UIG and LB muscle endurance in knee flexion was increased in KMRG. VO₂max, LB muscle strength, and LB muscle endurance were greater in KMRG than in CG. LB muscle strength in knee flexion was greater in KMRG than in UIG. Body fat was increased and skeletal muscle mass was decreased in CG. KMR exercise showed better performance than unsupervised individual (UI) exercise, and the exercise program was effective in both KMR and UI environments. These findings contribute to the growing evidence supporting the use of technology-based exercise interventions as a potential strategy to enhance health-related fitness