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Possible cross-transmission of hospital-associated enterococci between human patients, medical staff, and hospital environments has been extensively studied. However, limited information is available for veterinary hospital-associated Enterococcus isolates. This study investigated the possibility of cross-transmission of antibiotic-resistant enterococci between dog patients, their owners, veterinary staff, and hospital environments. Swab samples (n =46 5) were obtained from five veterinary hospitals in Seoul, Korea, during 2011. Forty-three Enterococcus strains were isolated, representing seven enterococcal species. E. faecalis and E. faecium were the most dominant species (16 isolates each, 37.2%). Although slight differences in the antibiotic resistance profiles were observed between the phenotypic and the genotypic data, our antibiogram analysis demonstrated high prevalence of the multiple drug-resistant (MDR) isolates of E. faecalis (10/16 isolates, 62.5%) and E. faecium (12/16 isolates, 75.0%). Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic comparison of the MDR isolates revealed three different clonal sets of E. faecalis and a single set of E. faecium, which were isolated from different sample groups or dog patients at the same or two separate veterinary hospitals. These results imply a strong possibility of cross-transmission of the antibiotic-resistant enterococcal species between animal patients, owners, veterinary staff, and hospital environments.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an autoimmune disorder with idiopathic myopathy and characteristic skin manifestations that one often accompanied by an internal malignancy. The association between dermatomyositis and malignancy has been reported several times, although tonsillar carcinoma is extremely rare not only in far eastern populations but also in caucasian populations. We report two cases of Korean patients with dermatomyositis associated with tonsillar carcinoma.

A method evaluating the economic efficiency of piggery waste treatment plant based on kinetics for nitrogen removal performances is executed in this study and five full scale plants were evaluated, monitored intensively during one year under steady-state conditions. The performance data from those surveyed plants were recalculated by first-order kinetic equation instead of the Monod's equation, and the nitrogen removal kinetics related with COD/TKN ratios. Two plants adapting two extreme strategies for pre treatment, 'excess phase separation', and 'minimum phase separation', were evaluated by the assessment of life cycle cost (LCC). Although the compared two plants use an opposite strategy to each other, similar evaluation results are deduced by nitrogen removal efficiencies and operational and construction costs. But the proportions of constituent elements are as different as two opposite strategies, so electrical and construction costs are inversely proportional to chemical costs and operational costs respectively.

As the number of internet users increases, a new game genre using the internet as a networking tool is emerging. Some game genres are regarded as having greater addiction potentials than others. Games and the internet are closely related. We investigated games frequently used by adolescents and classified each of them with the help of game professionals. We also examined internet use patterns to identify relationships between game genre and internet use patterns. 627 middle school and high school students (male 488, female 139) completed questionnaires concerning computer and game use patterns and Korean internet addiction scales. Game genres were divided into eight criteria (simulation, role playing game, web board, community, action, adventure, shooting, and sports). Using Korean internet addiction scales, 627 participants were divided into a normal group (474), a potential risk group (128), and a high-risk group (25). Each group showed significant differences in total internet addiction scores. We classified players into specific game users based upon the game types they most prefer. Role playing game users showed significantly higher internet addiction scores than web board and sports game users. Game and internet addictions are also connected with interpersonal relationship patterns. We suggest that users of some game genre have unique psychological addiction potentials that are different from others and that this influences both game selection and internet use.

To understand the characteristics of posterior circulation ischemic stroke (PCS) in the Korean population better, we retrospectively reviewed the data from the Hallym Stroke Registry (HSR). We analyzed the demographic features, risk factors, stroke subtypes, lesion distributions and clinical outcomes of 591 consecutive patients with PCS, enrolled in HSR between January 1996 and July 2002. PCS was 39.8% of all ischemic strokes. Mean age of PCS patients was 63.4 years and 55.7% were men. Hypertension was the most common risk factor (69.9%). However, potential cardioembolic sources were found only in 11.0%. The most frequent stroke subtype was large artery disease (50.0%), followed by small vessel disease (33.8%). Only 5.2% of patients were classified as affected with cardioembolism. The most common location of infarcts was in the middle territory (36.5%), followed by distal (28.1%), proximal (19.0%), and multiple territories (16.4%). The hospital mortality rate (4.1%) and discharge outcome of PCS were comparable with those of the anterior circulation stroke (ACS). In conclusion, the etiology and lesion topography of PCS in the Korean population appeared to be different from those of the Caucasians.

Purpose: We examined human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype distribution and prevalence from routine Pap smear cases in Korean women using DNA Chip., Patients and Methods: A total of 2,470 cervical specimens from women attending routine Pap smear cytology screening in local hospitals was subjected to HPV test. HPV detection and genotyping were done using DNA Chip., Results: HPV DNA was detected in 44.8% of the patients and in 58.7% of the 861 atypical lesions based on the Bethesda system, including 52.6% of 627 atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), 69.0% of 168 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), and 89.4% of 66 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) cases. The most frequently found genotypes in all HPV-positive cases were HPV-16, HPV-52, and HPV-58. HPV-16 was the most prevalent type in within normal limits, ASCUS, and HSIL categories, whereas HPV-51 was most frequently found in LSIL. Multiple infection was identified in about 20% of HPV-positive cases and most of them were that by two different types. HPV-16 was present in the majority of multiple infection cases. A significant decrease in the percentage of multiple infection was observed in HSIL cases compared with ASCUS and LSIL., Conclusions: The distribution of HPV genotypes in Korean women was revealed to have differences to that of other regions, showing higher frequencies of HPV-52, HPV-58, and HPV-51. HSIL cases were mostly infected by sole HPV-16 whereas LSIL that by various HPV types, suggesting a certain type may become dominant over others as the disease progresses.

HTLV-I infection is a recently recognized disease entity that is common in some tropical and subtropical areas, including the southwestern district of Japan. Despite the geographical proximity and frequent cultural exchanges between Korea and Japan, it is understood that Korea is not an endemic area and HTLV-I-associated illnesses are very rare in Korea. This study was designed to evaluate the positive rate of anti-HTLV-I antibodies in Korean blood donors and its regional distribution. Sera were obtained from blood donors from various districts around Korea. Anti-HTLV-I antibodies were detected by using the microtiter particle agglutination test employing an indirect agglutination technique. A total of 9,281 donors were tested and 12 donors (0.13%) were positive for anti-HTLV-I antibodies, 10 (0.11%) out of 8,845 males and 2 (0.46%) out of 436 females, with relative female predominance. A relatively high incidence of anti-HTLV-I positive donors was observed in Cheju Island (0.80%), Kyungnam (0.31%), and Chonnam (0.15%). In conclusion, the positive rate of anti-HTLV-I antibodies seemed to be very low in Korea, but the highest positive rate of anti-HTLV-I antibodies was noticed on Cheju Island, warranting further research for confirmation.