Drug Resistance Rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at a Private Referral Center in Korea

The goals of this study were to identify first-line drug resistance in new and previously treated tuberculosis (TB) cases and to determine risk factors for multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) at a private referral center in Korea. All patients with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB over a 2-yr period between July 2002 and June 2004 were prospectively included in this study. In total, 637 patients were included; 512 (80.4%) were new cases, and 125 (19.6%) were previously treated cases. Resistance to at least one first-line drug was identified in 11.7% of new cases and 41.6% of previously treated cases. MDR-TB was detected in 3.9% of new cases and 27.2% of previously treated cases. The proportion of extensively drug-resistant TB among MDR-TB patients was 16.7% (9/54). Factors associated with MDR-TB included age under 45 yr, previous TB treatment, and the presence of cavitation on chest radiography. Rates of first-line drug resistance are high, particularly in previously treated patients, in the private sector in Korea. This underscores the need for an improved control program, coupled with early diagnosis of MDR-TB, to reduce the spread and development of resistance

Study on the influence on the formation of highly ordered porous anodic aluminia membrane

We have studied porous anodic alumina template through the second anodic oxidation of preparation. Observing the morphology of nanoscale AAO template using scanning electron microscope (SEM), the results indicate that the pores are orderly paralleled arranged with uniform pore diameter, perpendicular to the template surface. A detailed study of the influence of different oxidation conditions, such as different type of electrolyte, concentration, voltage and temperature on the template of alumina and its electrochemical mechanism were performed. By changing the oxidation voltage, electrolyte type, concentration, pore diameter and template thickness can be altered in a wide range such that we can obtain the desired aspect ratio. <br /

Study on the influence on the formation of highly ordered porous anodic aluminia membrane

We have studied porous anodic alumina template through the second anodic oxidation of preparation. Observing the morphology of nanoscale AAO template using scanning electron microscope (SEM), the results indicate that the pores are orderly paralleled arranged with uniform pore diameter, perpendicular to the template surface. A detailed study of the influence of different oxidation conditions, such as different type of electrolyte, concentration, voltage and temperature on the template of alumina and its electrochemical mechanism were performed. By changing the oxidation voltage, electrolyte type, concentration, pore diameter and template thickness can be altered in a wide range such that we can obtain the desired aspect ratio. <br