Kyung Won Lee

Gram-negative bacilli with acquired metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) production have been increasingly reported in some countries, necessitating their detection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Hodge test and those of the imipenem (IPM)-EDTA, ceftazidime (CAZ)-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), and CAZ-sodium mercaptoacetic acid (SMA) double-disk synergy tests (DDSTs). The efficiencies of testing CAZ-resistant and IPM-nonsusceptible isolates were also compared. Strains used f

Carbapenem resistance mediated by acquired carbapenemase genes has been increasingly reported, particularly for clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp. Of 1,234 non-duplicate isolates of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. isolated at a tertiary-care hospital in Seoul, Korea, 211 (17%) were positive for metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL). Of these, 204 (96%) had either the bla(IMP-1) or bla(VIM-2) allele. In addition, seven Acinetobacter baumannii is

We investigated the phenotypic and genetic properties of metallo-beta-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas isolates collected at a tertiary-care hospital in Korea since 1995. The prevalence of imipenem resistance among Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates reached 16% in 1997, when 9% of the resistant organisms were found to produce VIM-2 beta-lactamase, a class B enzyme previously found only in P. aeruginosa isolates from Europe. VIM-2-producing isolates of Pseudomonas putida were also detected. Resistanc

We determined the occurrence of acquired metallo-lactamase (MBL)-producing bacteria in Korean hospitals. Among the isolates nonsusceptible to imipenem that were collected from 28 hospitals from 2000 to 2001, 44 (11.4%) of 387 Pseudomonas spp. and 38 (14.2%) of 267 Acinetobacter spp. produced MBL and had alleles of bla VIM-2 or bla IMP-1 . MBL-producing isolates were detected in 60.7% of the hospitals.

Air trapping was found in approximately 50% of asymptomatic subjects. The frequency of air trapping increased with age, and its severity increased with age and smoking.

Pathogenic bacteria have increasingly been resisting to antimicrobial therapy. Recently, resistance problem has been relatively much worsened in Gram-negative bacilli. Acinetobacter spp. are typical nosocomial pathogens causing infections and high mortality, almost exclusively in compromised hospital patients. Acinetobacter spp. are intrinsically less susceptible to antibiotics than Enterobacteriaceae, and have propensity to acquire resistance. A surveillance study in Korea in 2009 showed that r

OBJECTIVES: To examine mutations within the penA, mtrR, porB, ponA and pilQ genes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to determine their contribution to cephalosporin resistance. METHODS: A total of 46 N. gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility to cefixime or ceftriaxone (MICs > or = 0.12 mg/L) and two susceptible isolates were selected. The full sequence of penA and partial sequences previously reported as hot mutation sites of the other genes were analysed. Genotyping by N. gonorrhoeae multianti

Highly monodisperse 5 nm Pd-Ni alloy nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by the reduction of Pd(acac)(2)/Ni(acac)(2) mixtures with tert-butylamine-borane complex (TBAB) in the presence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm). Employing TBAB as an effective reductant and OA/OAm combination as an effective stabilizing agent is crucial to the formation of monodisperse Pd-Ni NPs. Experimental results collectively verify that the Pd-Ni alloy NPs form through the sequential nucleation-interdiffusion pro

Among the hospital isolates, ceftazidime-resistant K. pneumoniae and fluoroquinolone- resistant K. pneumoniae, Acinetobacter spp., and P. aeruginosa further increased. The increase in imipenem resistance was slight in P. aeruginosa, but drastic in Acinetobacter spp. The problematic antimicrobial-organism combinations were much more prevalent among ICU isolates.

PER-1, an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, has been reported only in Europe. We detected PER-1 in 53 of 97 acinetobacters in Korea, mainly in the sputum of intensive care unit patients. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis suggested that clonal spread had occurred. Only PCR reliably detected PER-1 producers. PER-1 producers may also exist in other Asian countries.

Dysregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling contributes to the development of diabetic retinopathy by inducing retinal inflammation, vascular leakage, and neovascularization. Here, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of a monoclonal antibody (Mab) specific for the E1E2 domain of Wnt coreceptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6, Mab2F1, on canonical Wnt signaling and its therapeutic potential for diabetic retinopathy. Mab2F1 displayed robust inhibition on Wnt signaling with a half-ma