Seung-Tae Kim

Clinical and immunologic effects of sublingual immunotherapy on patients with allergic rhinitis to house-dust mites: 1-Year follow-up results

Background There have been no data on sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in Asian patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) sensitized to house-dust mites (HDMs). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and immunologic change after 12 months of SLIT in Korean patients. Methods Fifty-eight patients, who had AR caused by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae and who completed 12 months of SLIT were included. Symptom scores were evaluated before and after 12 months of SLIT, and medication scores were assessed throughout the study. Peripheral blood eosinophil counts, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), total IgE, and specific IgE were also evaluated. Results All of the symptoms of AR were significantly improved with reduced medication scores. In addition, there were significant decrements in peripheral blood eosinophil counts and ECP (p = 0.025 and p = 0.048, respectively). Specific IgE for D. farinae slightly increased (p = 0.019), whereas specific IgE for D. pteronyssinus and total IgE did not change significantly. Thirty-six (62%) of 58 patients were in the effective response group. Although not statistically significant, findings in the study showed that the effective response group had a tendency to have higher ECP levels before SLIT than the ineffective response group (p = 0.056). Conclusion SLIT improved the symptoms and medication scores in Korean patients with AR from HDM. Laboratory parameters including eosinophil counts, ECP, and specific IgE for D. farinae seemed to be modified after 1-year SLIT. A high ECP level may be a useful parameter to predict the effectiveness of SLIT and select the patient for the treatment.

Cigarette smoking increases risk of recurrence for sinonasal inverted papilloma.

Background Sinonasal inverted papilloma (IP) is a neoplasm in the nasal cavity, characterized by its local aggressiveness and tendency to cause malignancy. Despite the frequent recurrence of IP, few studies have reported the effects of situational parameters including smoking on the recurrence rate of IP. This study was performed to evaluate clinical and environmental factors including smoking that can predict neoplasm recurrence after surgery in patients with IP. Methods This study was conducted retrospectively on 132 patients who were diagnosed with IP between November 1985 and September 2007. The study focused on the risk factors of recurrence, such as smoking behaviors, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), allergic rhinitis (AR), the sites of tumor origin and involvement, neoplasm staging, and the surgical method. The age of the patients ranged from 22 to 85 years, and among the 132 patients, 39 patients were smokers (29.5%), 17 (13.3%) with DM, 31 (24.4%) with HTN, and 11 (9.3%) with AR. Results The recurrence rate showed great disparity between the groups of smokers and nonsmokers: 28.2% of smokers suffered recurrence compared with 10.7% recurrence from the nonsmoker group. The Krouse stage IV group experienced more frequent recurrence than the stage I, II, and III groups. Some patients in Krouse stage III (5/72, 6.9%) and IV (3/3, 100%) groups underwent malignant transformation of IP. Histories of DM, HTN, and AR did not exert a statistically meaningful influence on the recurrence and malignant transformation. Conclusion The smoking behavior and tumor with extranasal/sinus extension appear to be associated with recurrence of IP after surgical resection.

A comparison of diversity and species composition of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) between conifer plantations and regenerating forests in Korea

Ground beetles were collected by pitfall trapping to compare their species richness between conifer plantations (14 sites) and regenerating forests (14 sites) and among forest ages and to examine how different functional groups responded to forest type, forest age, patch size, elevation, and geographic location in terms of abundance and richness. Ground beetles were collected from middle August to late October, 2008. A total of 34 species were identified from 3,156 collected ground beetles. Individual-based rarefaction curves showed greater species richness in regenerating forests, especially in 40–50-year-old forests, than in conifer plantations. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that patch size and elevation were major predictors of species richness and/or abundance of forest specialists, brachypterous species, and large- and medium-bodied species. A multivariate regression tree indicated that patch size and elevation were major predictors of assemblage structure. Although our results suggest that maintaining forest areas adjacent to agricultural landscapes may be essential to preserve ground beetle assemblages irrespective of forest types, further study is necessary to clarify the effects of habitat quality and amount on ground beetles in forests.

Characteristics and risk factors of mucosal cysts in the paranasal sinuses.

BACKGROUND Though mucosal cysts in the paranasal sinuses (PSMCs) are common findings on radiographic images, the nature of PSMCs and risk factors for the development of PSMCs have not yet been determined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of PSMCs using brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL A total of 6831 subjects who underwent health checkup including brain MR imaging were included in this study. The characteristics of PSMCs, including their location, number and size, as well as the presence of obstruction of the sinus ostium and sinusitis, were analysed using brain MR images. Structured questionnaires and medical records were reviewed to evaluate the smoking status and comorbid medical conditions. RESULTS The overall prevalence of PSMCs was 7.4% and was significantly higher in females than in males. PSMCs were most commonly found in the maxillary sinus, most of which were located unilaterally as a solitary cyst. Large cysts were associated with obstruction of the sinus ostium and subsequent sinusitis. Smoking was a single important risk factor for developing PSMCs. No significant associations were found between symptoms (nasal/respiratory) and the presence of PSMCs. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of PSMCs was 7.4% and decreased with age. Large cysts may lead to obstruction of the sinus and subsequent sinusitis. Smoking was an important risk factor for PSMCs, and the total amount of smoking correlated with cyst size. Most subjects were asymptomatic, and specific treatment was not performed.

Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblage in the urban landscape, Korea

This study was conducted with the intention of clarifying the effects of land-use types on a species of ground beetle’s richness, abundance, and composition; the study focused on urban landscapes. We also selected the potential bioindicators classifying land-use types; eleven sites were selected from an urban landscape in Korea. Overall, land-use types in urban landscapes did not appear to cause significant decrease in species richness or the abundance of total ground beetle as semblage. According to habitat preferences, several land-use types and distances from the forest significantly affected the species richness and abundance, while the open-habitat species were not affected by these variables. Land-use types were classified into two major groups, forest and non-forest areas, based on ground beetle assemblage; several indicators, such as Dolichus halensis halensis and subfamily Carabinae species, were of particular consideration. In conclusion, environmental change by anthropogenic disturbance can cause different effects on ground beetle assemblages, and forest specialists can be negatively affected.

TWO NEW PURSE-WEB SPIDERS OF THE GENUS ATYPUS (ARANEAE, ATYPIDAE) FROM KOREA

Abstract Two new species of the genus Atypus, Atypus sternosulcus new species from Andong and A. suwonensis new species from Suwon, are newly described from Korea.

Insect Fauna of Adjacent Areas of DMZ in Korea

Insect fauna in adjacent areas of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea was surveyed seasonally in . The survey area was divided into 3 regions (eastern mountain, middle inland, and western coastal regions) in accordance with administrative districts and topography. Sampling methods such as sweeping, sieving, beating, brushing and suction were used depending on the environmental and military conditions. Total 361 genera and 437 species of 116 families belonging to 14 orders were identified. Among these, 46 species were new to insect fauna of DMZ areas. Species richness was the highest in the eastern mountain region. Numbers of habitat-common and -specific species were 96 (22%) and 195 (47.2%), respectively. The insect species community similarity was highest (0.64) between eastern mountain region and western coastal region. Insect orders showing high species richness were Coleoptera (38.9%), Lepidoptera (19.2%), Orthoptera (9.4%), and Hemiptera (9.2%). These results will be useful information for study of history on the change of insect fauna and future conservation in DMZ areas.

Comparison of Ground Beetle Communities (Coleoptera: Carabidae) between Coniferous and Deciduous Forests in Agricultural Landscapes

This study was conducted to examine the community structure of ground beetles between coniferous- and deciduous-dominant forest in agricultural landscapes, in Miryang-si, Yeongdong-gun, Icheon-si, and Cheolwon-gun during April to October in 2009. A total of 19 species belonging to 15 genera of 9 subfamilies were identified from 6,253 collected ground beetles. Dominant species from 4 regions were Synuchus nitidus (3,715 individuals, 59.4% of total) and Synuchus cyloderus (1,783 individuals, 28.5%) respectively. Non-metric multidimensional scaling based on Bray-Curtis similarity showed that ground beetle assemblage was not different between forest stands, but it was significantly different among regions. Overall, forest stands of secondary forests may not show a different community structure of ground beetle assemblages in our study. However, monitoring on the ground beetle fauna as well as other arthropods of secondary forests in agricultural landscapes is still important for the management and conservation of biodiversity, because forests provides important habitats for many predatory arthropods, such as ground beetles, spiders and rove beetles.

Occurrence and Population Dynamics of Spiders in Transplanting Rice Fields under Different Levels of Pest Management

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the conventional pesticide application system on the rice spider community based on the quantitative investigation of arthropod community in the rice fields in Saran area, Hwasung-si, Kyeonggi-do from 1996 to 1998. Spiders were the highest dominant group comprising over 90% of all natural enemies in their density, and showed very stable yearly occurrence. In these fiekds the mean density of spiders was about 10 individuals/ during the rice growing season, and three families including Lycosidae, Tetragnathidae and Linyphiidae were very abundant. The colonization of spiders occurred in early season and they showed rapid density increase in mid-season. They maintained the highest density to the late season and their density decreased at harvest season. In the years of the low rice pest occurrence, the disturbance effect on spider community by pesticides were less. Two dominant species, Pirata subpiraticus and Pachygnatha clerki, had different population dynamics; Pirata subpiraticus showed the rapid density increase in the mid-July, and most of them remained immature stages, however, in the case of Pachygnaths clerki population, they rapidly increased in the late August and most of them remained adult stage during the late growing season.

Spiders from Oksunbong in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea

Up to date detailed qualitative studies of mountainousspiders in Chungcheong area have not yet been conductedproperly. On a global and regional scale, mountains usual-ly maintain high species richness with some rare speciesbecause they are not much disturbed by human activitycompared to other ecosystems. In view of the growingimportance of distribution data of organisms for conserva-tion at many scale, biota will depend heavily on compileddata including many ecological factors such as time, space,habitat type, community structure, biodiversity, functionalguild and so on. Spiders, one of the main arthropodswhich show high relative abundance, ease of collection,and high biodiversity in habitat preferences and foragingstrategies, allows for effective monitoring of site differ-ences(Yen, 1995). This survey was conducted in Oksun-bong situated in Chungcheongbuk-do, as a serial workto understand spider fauna of Korean mountains throughqualitative monitoring and establishing regional inventory.