Ossification of the ligamentum flavum is a rare cause of thoracic myelopathy. It develops in East Asians more frequently than in people from other areas. The exact pathophysiology has not been elucidated yet; however, it largely depends on biomechanical alterations, especially changes in the tensile force. Because the spinal cord is compressed from the posterior side, the first and most common clinical manifestation is usually loss of functional gait and spastic paralysis, which develop as the spinal cord compression progresses. The choice of diagnostic imaging is T2 sagittal magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Whole spine scanning is mandatory to identify multiple areas of compression and any associated distal lumbar diseases. Fine computed tomography imaging is necessary to make a differential diagnosis and set up a precise surgical plan. Conservative treatment does not work in this disorder. Decompression surgery is the only option and prognosis after surgical treatment is better with this disorder than with other causes of thoracic myelopathy. The severity of preoperative symptoms and the time interval before surgical treatment are the most important prognostic factors.

Over several decades, topical and systemic antibiotics have been the mainstay of treatment for acne vulgaris. The widespread and long-term use of antibiotics in the treatment of acne has resulted in the spread of resistant bacterial strains and treatment failure. We aimed to examine the bacteriology of acne vulgaris and to evaluate its susceptibility to the antibiotics widely used for acne in Korea. We examined the species of bacteria aerobically and anaerobically isolated from 100 Korean acne patients. Among the bacteria isolated, Staphylococcus epidermidis (36 patients) was the most common, followed by Propionibacterium acnes (30 patients). Eleven strains of P. acnes (36.7%) and 25 strains of S. epidermidis (69.4%) were resistant to one or other of the antibiotics tested. A higher proportion of P. acnes isolates were resistant to clindamycin (30%) and erythromycin (26.7%), than to any other antibiotics tested (P = 0.0003). Some S. epidermidis isolates were resistant to tetracycline and doxycycline in addition to clindamycin and erythromycin. In the previous studies, few strains of P. acnes were found to be resistant to any of the antibiotics, but this study shows that antibiotic-resistant strains have been increasing in Korea acne patients.

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The priority placed on animal welfare in the meat industry is increasing the importance of understanding livestock behavior. In this study, we developed a web-based monitoring and recording system based on artificial intelligence analysis for the classification of cattle sounds. The deep learning classification model of the system is a convolutional neural network (CNN) model that takes voice information converted to Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) as input. The CNN model first achieved an accuracy of 91.38% in recognizing cattle sounds. Further, short-time Fourier transform-based noise filtering was applied to remove background noise, improving the classification model accuracy to 94.18%. Categorized cattle voices were then classified into four classes, and a total of 897 classification records were acquired for the classification model development. A final accuracy of 81.96% was obtained for the model. Our proposed web-based platform that provides information obtained from a total of 12 sound sensors provides cattle vocalization monitoring in real time, enabling farm owners to determine the status of their cattle.

Background:Since its reemergence in 1993, a number of cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria have been reported in Korea. We analyzed the cases of malaria patients living in Chuncheon and its neighboring communities, to characterize its clinical manifestations and laboratory findings, and to identify any differences between our clinical findings and those of previous studies.Methods:We reviewed the clinical records of cases that were confirmed as malaria by peripheral blood smear at Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital from July 1998 to September 2001.Results:Forty-four cases were included in the study. All patients were infected with Plasmodium vivax, and presented with high fever; however, tertian fever developed in only 15 patients (35.7%). A number of cases showed various symptoms, which included headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Of the 44 cases identified, 41 (93.2%) developed malaria between June and September.Thrombocytopenia was a prominent finding in 75% of the cases at diagnosis, but resolved during or after therapy. Other laboratory abnormalities such as, anemia, elevated transamines, coagulopathies, and elevated lactose dehydrogenase (LDH) were also noted. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), studies were performed in five cases, one of which showed pleocytosis in the CSF.Conclusion:We noted only 15 patients (35.7%) with tertian fever; the other patients showed variable fever patterns. Thrombocytopenia was the most prominent laboratory finding. Therefore, we suggest that malaria should be included in the differential diagnosis of febrile diseases with an onset between June to and September, regardless of the pattern of the fever.

Combined balloon decompression and epidural adhesiolysis has been reported to be effective in refractory lumbar spinal stenosis. Many cases of intractable stenosis have symptom-related multiple target sites for interventional treatment. In this situation it may not be possible to perform balloon adhesiolysis, or even only epidural adhesiolysis, for all target sites. Therefore, this multicenter prospective observational study aimed to evaluate the relationship of successful ballooning rate for multiple target sites with clinical outcome. Based on the ballooning success rate of multiple target sites, the patients were divided into three groups: below 50%, 50–85%, and above 85% ballooning. A greater ballooning success rate for multiple target sites provided a more decreased pain intensity and improved functional status in patients with chronic refractory lumbar spinal stenosis, and the improvement was maintained for 6 months. The estimated proportions of successful responders according to a multidimensional approach in the below 50%, 50–85%, and above 85% balloon success groups at 6 months after the procedure were 0.292, 0.468, and 0.507, respectively (p = 0.038). Our study suggests the more successful balloon adhesiolysis procedures for multiple target lesions are performed, the better clinical outcome can be expected at least 6 months after treatment.

Background. Lower back pain is a common reason for disability and the most common cause is lumbar disc herniation. Percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis has been applied to relieve pain and increase the functional capacity of patients who present this condition. Objectives. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the factors which predict the outcome of percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis in patients who were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation. Methods. Electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation who have received percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis treatment were reviewed. The primary outcome was the factors that were associated with substantial response of ≥4 points or ≥50% of pain relief in the numerical rating scale pain score 12 months after the treatment. Results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the presence of high-intensity zone (HIZ) at magnetic resonance imaging was a predictor of substantial response to percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis for 12 months (P = 0.007). The presence of a condition involving the vertebral foramen was a predictor for unsuccessful response after 12 months (P = 0.02). Discussion and Conclusion. The presence of HIZ was a predictor of favorable long-term outcome after percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis for the treatment of lower back pain with radicular pain caused by lumbar disc herniation.

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