Human bocavirus (HBoV)-2, a new parvovirus, has been identified in stool samples and is suggested to be one of the etiologic agents of acute gastroenteritis (GE). The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HBoV-2 in children with GE. Stool samples were collected from 358 children hospitalized with GE. HBoV-2 was detected in 3.6% of the patients. HBoV-2 was co-detected with other viral agents in 53.8% of the patients. These findings suggest that HBoV-2 may be an etiologic agent in GE, but further studies are needed due to frequent co-detection with other enteric viruses.

There have been many epidemiological and clinical researches on chronic fatigue (CF) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) since the 1990s, but such studies have been quite limited in Korea. The aim of this study was to investigate the point prevalence of CF and CFS in patients who visited community-based eight primary care clinics in Korea. The study subjects were 1,648 patients aged 18 yr and over who visited one of eight primary care clinics in Korea between the 7th and 17th of May 2001. The physicians determined the status of the subjects through fatigue-related questionnaires, medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests. The subjects were categorized into no fatigue, prolonged fatigue, CF and then CF were further classified to medically explained CF (Physical CF and Psychological CF) and medically unexplained CF (CFS and idiopathic chronic fatigue). The point prevalence of CF and CFS were 8.4% (95% CI 7.1-9.7%) and 0.6% (95% CI 0.2-1.0%). Medically explained CF was 80.5% of CF, of which 57.1% had psychological causes. The clinical characteristics of CFS were distinguished from explained CF. CF was common but CFS was rare in community-based primary care settings in Korea.

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Carbon nanotube/polytetrafluoroethylene composite polymer targets are proposed for use in the fabrication of fluorocarbon thin films using the mid-frequency sputtering process. Fluorocarbon thin films deposited using carbon nanotube/polytetrafluoroethylene composite targets exhibit an amorphous phase with a smooth surface and show a high water contact angle, optical transmittance, and surface hardness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies reveal that as the carbon nanotube concentration increased in the composite target, a carbon cross-linked structure was formed, which enhanced the film hardness and the modulus of the fluorocarbon thin film. Large-area fluorocarbon thin films with a substrate width of 700 mm were successfully fabricated by a pilot-scale roll-to-roll sputtering system using a carbon nanotube/polytetrafluoroethylene composite target.

Recently, the emergence of a new NoV GII-4 variant strain every 2 or 3 years has been reported. One hundred seventeen NoV GII strains were detected by RT-PCR in children with AGE between August 2008 and February 2010. In phylogenetic analyses, GII-4 and GII-3 were the most frequently detected strains. The detection rate of the 2008 variant was similar to that of the 2006b variant in the winter seasons of 2009 and 2010. This study shows a changing pattern of a predominant GII-4/2006b variant to the 2008 variant, as well as a novel NoV recombinant strain, GII-6/GII-14, in Korea.