Serotype-specific amplification of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with nested primer pairs was used to diagnose scrub typhus and identify the Rickettsia tsutsugamushi serotype. The primer pairs used for PCR were designed on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the gene that encodes the 56-kDa antigen. Serotype-specific primers were used in the second PCR amplification. Five serovariants, the Gilliam, Karp, Kato, Kawasaki, and Kuroki strains of R. tsutsugamushi, were identified by nested PCR. In addition, the serotype identified by PCR with DNA from blood clots was the same as that of the strain isolated from five patients with scrub typhus. These findings indicate that this method is useful for diagnosis and identification of the rickettsial serotype in infected patients.     

Monitoring of human enteric viruses and coliform bacteria in waters after urban flood in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Floodwaters in Kampung Melayu village, Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as river water and consumable water (including groundwater and tap water) samples in flooded and non-flooded areas, were quantitatively analysed to assess occurrence of viruses and total coliforms and E. coli as bacterial indicators after flooding event. High numbers of enterovirus, hepatitis A virus, norovirus (G1, G2) and adenovirus were detected at high concentration in floodwaters and waters sampled from Ciliwung River which runs across metropolitan Jakarta and is used widely for agriculture and domestic purposes by poor residents. One out of three groundwater wells in the flooded area was contaminated with all viruses tested while no viruses were found in groundwater samples in non-flooded areas and tap water samples. The results revealed that human enteric viruses, especially hepatitis A virus and adenovirus, were prevalent in Jakarta, Indonesia. This study suggested that flooding posed a higher risk of viral infection to the people through contamination of drinking water sources or direct contact with floodwaters.     

Transmit permission control on spread ALOHA packets in LEOsatellite systems

A transmit permission control method for improving the throughput characteristics of a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system employing spread-slotted ALOHA multiple-access scheme is proposed. Both nonfading and fading satellite links are considered. The basic idea of the proposed scheme is to decrease the level of interference at each satellite and, hence, to increase the probability of packet success, by prohibiting the packet transmission from the users with relatively high propagation loss to their connecting satellites. It is shown that the method has the ability to improve the throughput performance in heavy traffic loads and the peak value of the throughput, significantly. It is also shown that the average delay performance of the system employing the proposed scheme is superior to that of the conventional system at heavy traffic loads     

A case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (Ofuji's disease) induced by patch and challenge tests with indeloxazine hydrochloride

A 73-year-old male developed disseminated erythema over his entire body after exposure to indeloxazine hydrochloride, a cerebral activator. Patch testing with indeloxazine hydrochloride showed a positive reaction, and plaques, vesicles and pustules developed on the face after the patch test. These had the pathologic feature of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF, Ofuji's disease). A challenge test also provoked eruptions on the face, trunk, arms and legs, which were compatible with EPF. Moreover, both the patch and challenge tests with indeloxazine hydrochloride induced eosinophilia. This is the first report of drug allergy-induced EPF, where drug sensitivity induced an abnormal eosinophilic response mimicking EPF.     

Compact Dipole Antenna for Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting Service

A compact dipole antenna for the terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (TDMB) application is presented. The length of the antenna is about 0.06λ at the TDMB resonance frequency of 190 MHz. Miniaturization of the antenna is achieved by using meander structures and lumped elements. The proposed antenna has two resonance frequencies and covers the TDMB band from 174 MHz to 216 MHz in Korea. The antenna has good impedance bandwidth and radiation characteristics for the TDMB. The experimental results of the designed dipole antenna are presented and analyzed.     

Fabrication of GaAs quantum wire structure using metal organic molecular beam epitaxy

GaAs quantum wires (100*20 nm/sup 2/) buried in AlAs layers have been successfully fabricated using metal organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE) for the first time. The underlying growth mechanism is that, under appropriate As/sub 4/ pressure in MOMBE, GaAs preferentially grows only on the sidewalls of the patterned     

Expression, exon-intron organization, and chromosome mapping of the human sodium iodide symporter

The active iodide uptake of the thyroid gland in humans is mediated by the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS). In this report, we show that hNIS expression was detected primarily in thyroid tissue, but also in breast, colon, and ovary tissues. Expression of hNIS is greatly reduced in thyroid tumors compared to normal thyroid tissue. Among tumor tissues, hNIS expression appears to be variable, consistent with the variable response to radioiodide treatment observed for thyroid carcinomas. The coding region of hNIS is interrupted by 14 introns, and the nucleotide sequence of each exon-intron junction is reported. Using this information, an alternatively spliced form of hNIS was identified. Finally, the chromosome location of the hNIS gene was mapped to chromosome 19p.     

Probabilistic evaluation of lateral extent of soil liquefaction under earthquake loading

A Monte Carlo simulation method for calculating the probability of soil liquefaction of a finite area in which the ground motion is propagated upward from the bedrock through the soil layers is presented. The vertical propagation of the ground motion through the soil layers is analyzed using random vibration analysis. To account for the variability of soil properties with depth, the soil deposit is divided into layers. Within each layer the horizontal statistical correlation of the undrained cyclic shearing strength against liquefaction is taken into consideration by describing it as a two-dimensional homogeneous random field. The method computes the probability of liquefaction spreading over a specified area under a given earthquake loading considering the effects of spatial correlation of soil properties.