• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.1692-1697
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• 2023

Staphylococcus aureus integrated with mecA gene, which codes for penicillin-binding protein 2a, is resistant to all penicillins and other beta-lactam antibiotics, resulting in poor treatment expectations in skin and soft tissue infections. The development of a simple, sensitive and portable biosensor for mecA gene analysis in S. aureus is urgently needed. Herein, we propose a dual-toehold-probe (sensing probe)-mediated exonuclease-III (Exo-III)-assisted signal recycling for portable detection of the mecA gene in S. aureus. When the target mecA gene is present, it hybridizes with the sensing probe, initiating Exo III-assisted dual signal recycles, which in turn release numerous "3" sequences. The released "3" sequences initiate catalytic hairpin amplification, resulting in the fixation of a sucrase-labeled H2 probe on the surface of magnetic beads (MBs). After magnet-based enrichment of an MB-H1-H2-sucrase complex and removal of a liquid supernatant containing free sucrase, the complex is then used to catalyze sucrose to glucose, which can be quantitatively detected by a personal glucose meter. With a limit of detection of 4.36 fM for mecA gene, the developed strategy exhibits high sensitivity. In addition, good selectivity and anti-interference capability were also attained with this method, making it promising for antibiotic tolerance analysis at the point-of-care.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.45-57
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• 1995

A study .to identify an occupational hazards for hospital working health care providers from needle stick injury as an occupational hazards of health care providers in hospital and prevention A survey of 2430 health professionals (2184 nurses, 182 doctors, and 64 Lab technicians) was conducted to describe and provide information about 1) the experience of needle stick. 2) the number of needle stick, 3) the treatment after needle stick. 3) the situation of needle stick, 4) the report of needle stick, 5) the cause of needle stick, 6) the discard method of used needles, and 7) how to worry about getting infection disease after needle stick. Data were collected using questionnarires constructed by the authors and tested by a pilot study. Results of the study showed that 96.7% of the sample had an experience of needle stick (96.8% of the nurses, 96.7% of the doctors, and 92.2% of Lab technicians). Seventy seven percent of the sample experienced less than 10 needle sticks, 19% of the sample experienced 11 to 20 needle sticks, and the rest of the sample experienced more than 20 needle sticks. The situations where needle sticks occurred include intrvenous injection (36.5%), intramuscular injection (21.6%), blood withdraw (17.8%), and preparation(11.8%). The study showed that needle sticks (67.5%) usually occurred after client treatment. Health professionals used recapping method (55%) after they used needles. Needle sticks were predominantly caused by the carelessness of health professionals (61%), After needle sticks, 88.2% of the sample subjects treated needle sticks using disinfection technique by themselves. Most of health professionals (92.6%) did not report the accident. and 95.6% of them did not receive any test or further treatment. After needle sticks, 87.8% of nurses, 83.6% of doctors, and 96.6% of lab technicians worried about hepatitis infection. 'Health professionals also worried about AIDS infection, tetanus, venereal infection, and skin injury. These findings suggest that health professionals are at high-risk of needle stick and fail to report needle stick accidents. They should pay more attention to needle stick in order to avoid unwanted infection.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.56-61
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• 2015

Purpose: We report on the clinical result after coverage of a soft tissue defect on the medial foot and ankle with an adipofascial flap based on the perforator from the posterior tibia artery. Materials and Methods: Nine patients with soft tissue defects on the medial foot and ankle area from March 2009 to May 2014 underwent the procedure. Average age was 54 years old (range, 8~82 years). There were five male patients and four female patients. The causes of the defect were trauma (4), tumor (3), and infection (2). The pivot point of transposition of this flap is the lower perforator originating from the posterior tibia artery. The fatty tissue side of this flap could be used to resurface the defect. The donor site was closed primarily with the preserved skin, and a small caliber drain tube was used. The split-thickness skin graft was grafted to the flap and the wound. If the wound was still infected, this skin graft could be performed at a later date. Results: All flaps survived and normal soft tissue coverage was obtained for the medial foot and ankle of all patients after the skin graft. Normal footwear was possible for all cases because of thin coverage. There was an extension contracture on the medial ray of the foot, which was resolved by contracture release and skin graft. Conclusion: For the medial foot and ankle soft tissue defect, the medial crural adipofascial flap based on a perforator branch of the posterior tibia artery could be a good option to cover it.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2001

Introduction : The goal in the management of soft tissue injuries of the lower extremity is to obtain a closed stable wound as soon as possible. Recently, An anatomic study that has shown the role of the vascular axis that follows the superficial sensory nerves in supplying the skin developed the concept of a neuroskin island flap. It has been suggested that skin island flaps supplied by the vascular network of the saphenous nerve is one of the most reliable treatment to skin defect below the knee joint. Purpose : The aim of this article is to present a clinical experience of neuroskin island flaps based on the saphenous nerve and to estimate the clinical utilities of distally based saphenous neuroskin flap. Materials and Methods : From September 1995 to May 2000, a total 12 distally based neuroskin island flaps supplied by the vascular axis of the saphenous nerve were performed to cover defects in pretibial area below the knee. Result : flap necrosis due to reactivation of existing infection developed in a case that skin defect had been on infected nonunion site of tibia. But other 11 cases survived completely without any specific complications. Conclusion : The distally based neuroskin pedicled island flap using the vascular network of the saphenous nerve are versatile and reliable and especially indicated for limited defects in pretibial area below the knee joint which are not good indications for other better-known flaps.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2006

Apple scar skin, one of the most destructive diseases affecting apple, is caused by Apple scar skin viroid (ASSV d). Fruit dappling appeared on several cultivars in Korea and has been distributed to major cultivated areas since 2001. ASSVd was identified from infected fruits by using nucleic acid sequence-based amplification with electrochemiluminescence (NASBA-ECL). NASBA-ECL method was faster and hundredfold more sensitive than reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for ASSVd detection in apple leaves/ stems. ASSVd was rapidly transmitted to the entire tree in the second year after artificial inoculation. The ASSVd could be transmitted efficiently by using contaminated pruning scissors to both lignified stems (60 to $70\%$) and green shoots (20 to $40\%$) of apple tree and young plants. Dipping of contaminated scissors in $2\%$ sodium hypochlorite solution effectively prevented viroid transmission. In the ASSV d-infected fruits, the viroid was easily detected from fruit skin, seed coat, and embryo. Moreover, embryo and endosperm separately excised from the ASSVd-infected seeds were ASSVd positive in NASBA-ECL assay. Seedlings germinated from ASSVd-positive seeds showed $7.7\%$ infection rate., which indicated that ASSVd is seed-borne.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2016

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by community-associated (CA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a worldwide concern. An otherwise healthy 16-month-old Korean girl was admitted because of skin abscess on the left chest wall with a history of recurrent SSTIs since the age of 6 months. Immunologic evaluation including serum immunoglobulin level and nitroblue-tetrazolium (NBT) test were normal. Pus and nasal swab cultures revealed CA-MRSA ST714-SCCmec type IV with the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes, which was initially reported in the Netherlands in 2006 and has not been previously reported in Korea. The skin abscesses were successfully treated by needle aspiration and the use of antibiotics. In addition, nasal mupirocin was applied as a decolonization method. No more episodes of SSTI were observed over a follow-up period of 10 months.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2020

We found skin flukes in snubnose pompano (Trachinotus blochii) from a public aquarium and attempted clear identification of them to the species level by morphology and molecular analyses. Skin flukes were collected from snubnose pompano showing dyspnea, anorexia and mild hemorrhage on the skin. All the fish samples (n=2) were infected with the flukes on the skin, gill and eyes, covered with excessive mucus. The isolated worms were transferred for making slide specimen and PCR amplification targeting 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (mt cox1) and cytochrome b (Cytb) genes for further analyses. Morphology and measurements data of our slide specimen coincided with those of Neobenedenia girellae. The sequence data of 2 genes (28S rDNA and Cytb) and the phylogenetic trees revealed that our specimen consistently belonged to the N. girellae clade. For 18S rDNA and mt cox1 genes, there was no sequence of either of these 2 Neobenedenia species from the type host available in GenBank. This is the first record of N. girellae in snubnose pompano, but it is still unclear if the snubnose pompano is a natural host for N. girellae or not because N. girellae is known to have an unusual broad host range and the host-switching can occur particularly in captive conditions such as aquarium or aquaculture facilities.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.258-263
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• 2014

Background For early breast cancer patients, skin-sparing mastectomy or nipple-sparing mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy has become the mainstream treatment for immediate breast reconstruction in possible cases. However, a few cases of skin necrosis caused by methylene blue dye (MBD) used for sentinel lymph node localization have been reported. Methods Immediate breast reconstruction using a silicone implant was performed on 35 breasts of 34 patients after mastectomy. For sentinel lymph node localization, 1% MBD (3 mL) was injected into the subareolar area. The operation site was inspected in the postoperative evaluation. Results Six cases of immediate breast reconstruction using implants were complicated by methylene blue dye. One case of local infection was improved by conservative treatment. In two cases, partial necrosis and wound dehiscence of the incision areas were observed; thus, debridement and closure were performed. Of the three cases of wide skin necrosis, two cases underwent removal of the dead tissue and implants, followed by primary closure. In the other case, the breast implant was salvaged using latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap reconstruction. Conclusions The complications were caused by MBD toxicity, which aggravated blood disturbance and skin tension after implant insertion. When planning immediate breast reconstruction using silicone implants, complications of MBD should be discussed in detail prior to surgery, and appropriate management in the event of complications is required.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.67-78
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• 2012

Volatile odor substance originating from drying and making dry peel of tangerine from the fruit skin were collected through modern equipment. The anti-microbial activity of the substance against various skin-residing bacteria including acne, dandruff, athelete's foot, and gingivitis inducing microorganisms were tested. Anti-microbial activity was observed in purified oil, where 87 to 92% was D-limonene. Against P. acnes, 103$cfu/m{\ell}$ of P. acnes were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu oil, and the MIC was measured to be 0.3%. Against P. ovale, a dandruff inducing bacteria, 104$cfu/m{\ell}$were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu oil, and the MIC was measured to be 0.1%. Against T. rubrum and T. Mentagrophytes, both of which are athelete's foot inducing microorganisms, 83% of T. Mentagrophytes and 99.9% of T. rubrum were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu oil, and the MIC were 0.3% and 0.05% respectively. Against S. aureus, a skin infection inducing bacteria, 103$cfu/m{\ell}$ of the bacteria were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu Oil. Against B. subtilis, a non-pathogenic sporulating bacteria, 104$cfu/m{\ell}$ of the bacteria were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu Oil. Against C. albicans, found in mucous membranes, 104$cfu/m{\ell}$ of the bacteria were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu Oil. Against Aspergillus niger, an otomycosis inducing microorganism, 99.9% were suppressed at 0.1% Unshiu Oil. The results above indicate that low concentration of purified oil extracted from tangerine had strong antimicrobial activities against bacteria and fungi residing on the skin, and that it may be developed into skin disorder treating products in the future.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.224-230
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• 2021

Background Little is known about the sensate recovery of skin grafts over free non-neurotized muscle flaps. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of free gracilis muscle flaps and meshed skin grafts without nerve coaptation. Methods Thirteen consecutive patients with a median age of 55 years (range, 21-70 years) who underwent lower extremity reconstruction between September 2014 and October 2016 were included. Complications, flap contour, skin perception, and sensate recovery were assessed. Results All flaps survived completely. In one patient, wound dehiscence and infection occurred 1 month after surgery. After a median follow-up of 14 months (range, 10-51 months), a satisfactory contour and skin perception were achieved. The Semmes-Weinstein (SW) monofilament test (154.8±22 g) and static two-point discrimination (2-PD) (12.6±0.7 mm) showed intermediate recovery compared to the surrounding site (41% and 76%, respectively). There was an intermediate correlation between flap size and sensate recovery (2-PD: r=0.27, P=0.36; SW test: r=0.45, P=0.12). Vibration sensation recovered to 60%, whereas thermal sensation remained poor (19% at 5℃ and 25% at 25℃). Conclusions Finer sensation could be partially restored. However, thermal sensation remained poor.