Evaluation of Microbial Load in Oropharyngeal Mucosa from Tannery Workers

Castellanos-Arevalo, Diana C.,Castellanos-Arevalo, Andrea P.,Camarena-Pozos, David A.,Colli-Mull, Juan G.,Maldonado-Vega, Maria Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.1

Background: Animal skin provides an ideal medium for the propagation of microorganisms and it is used like raw material in the tannery and footware industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate and identify the microbial load in oropharyngeal mucosa of tannery employees. Methods: The health risk was estimated based on the identification of microorganisms found in the oropharyngeal mucosa samples. The study was conducted in a tanners group and a control group. Samples were taken from oropharyngeal mucosa and inoculated on plates with selective medium. In the samples, bacteria were identified by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis and the yeasts through a presumptive method. In addition, the sensitivity of these microorganisms to antibiotics/antifungals was evaluated. Results: The identified bacteria belonged to the families Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Neisseriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Xanthomonadaceae, of which some species are considered as pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms; these bacteria were not present in the control group. Forty-two percent of bacteria identified in the tanners group are correlated with respiratory diseases. Yeasts were also identified, including the following species: Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida krusei. Regarding the sensitivity test of bacteria identified in the tanners group, 90% showed sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam, 87% showed sensitivity to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, 74% showed sensitivity to ampicillin/sulbactam, and 58% showed sensitivity to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Several of the bacteria and yeast identified in the oropharyngeal mucosa of tanners have been correlated with infections in humans and have already been reported as airborne microorganisms in this working environment, representing a health risk for workers.

The Role of Reclamation Research in Re-Establishing Functional Ecosystems in the Oil Sands Region of Northeastern Alberta

Carmela Arevalo 한국토양비료학회 2014 한국토양비료학회 학술발표회 초록집 Vol.2014 No.6

Was Professor Romer s View of the Charter City Too Rosy?: a Critical Review of Charter City Development in Honduras

Isabella Arevalo,이재우(Jae-Woo Lee) 한국경제통상학회 2021 경제연구 Vol.39 No.1

경제적 사고의 실천가로서, 로머는 2009년에 개발도상국에 스타트업 같은 차터시티(Charter City)를 건설하여 혁신적 개혁특구 또는 실험특구로 만들자는 아이디어를 제안했다. 이 모델의 기본 전제는 중국영토이지만 영국의 지배를 받았던 홍콩처럼 대규모의 유휴토지를 외국 관할하에 통치하는 차터시티로 지정하고 여기에 사람들이 자발적으로 이주할 수 있도록 하는 것이다. 특히 정부무능과 법치주의 불신이 만연한 나라에서 차터시티는 신뢰부족 문제를 해결할 수 있는 ‘신뢰할만한 약속’이 될 수 있다. 차터시티와 같은 치외법권 지역을 조성함으로써, 해당 국가는 신뢰 부족에서 벗어나 외국 자본을 유치할 수 있다. 그러나, 이런 경제적 약속에도 불구하고, 차터시티는 여러 이유로 정책으로 실행하기에는 매우 어려운 것으로 드러났다. 이 연구에서 우리는 노벨경제학상 수상자인 로머교수의 자문아래 온두라스가 추진해온 차터시티 모델을 사례 연구하였다. 특히 ‘제도적인 관점’을 통해 차터시티와 같은 ‘공식적’ 규칙, 제도의 효과성에 대한 여러가지 논의를 할 수 있었다. 첫째, 규칙이나 제도는 국경을 넘어 쉽게 이식될 수 없다. 제도들은 이른바 ‘끈적끈적하다(sticky)’고 할 수 있다. ‘비공식적’ 규범은 경제특구 개발과 같은 공식적 정책을 이행하는 데 매우 중요하다. 사람들의 신념, 문화, 그리고 사회적 규범이 공식적 제도를 지지하지 않을 때, 공식적인 규칙의 변화는 그렇게 효과적이지 않다. 온두라스 정부는 차터시티에게 공식적인 지위를 부여하기 위해 헌법까지 개정했지만, 온두라스 국민들은 그들이 ‘신자유주의’ 혹은 ‘유토피아적 거주 특구’로 생각하는 차터시티를 받아들일 준비가 되어 있지 않았다. 둘째, 온두라스처럼 재산권과 공공안전 등 기본권이 확보되지 않은 나라일수록 차터시티의 핵심 요소인 ‘발로서 투표할’ 권리, 즉 이주할 권리 등 기본적 권리가 극히 제한된다. 당연히 이런 나라에서 차터시티 정책이 성공할 가능성이 더 낮아진다. 셋째, 문제를 더 어렵게 만드는 점은 온두라스 정부 자체의 낮은 대외 신뢰성에 있다. 차터시티 정책을 진행하면서 온두라스 정부는 이 사업의 상징인 로머 교수에게 ‘투명하게 추진하겠다’는 약속을 지키지 못했으며, 이는 대외적으로 높은 수준의 정부 리스크를 노출시켰다. 넷째, 차터시티는 파트너국가의 규칙과 관할에 의존하면서 국가주권의 일부 할양이 불가피한데, 로머 등 차터시티 추진자들은 이 비용을 과소평가했다. 치외법권 구역이라는 차터시티의 개념 때문에 과거 식민지였던 온두라스에서 ‘식민도시’의 재등장이라는 비판도 받아야 했다. 차터시티 정책은 온두라스의 대중과 여러 이해관계자들의 엄청난 반발에 직면하게 되었으며, 이것이 차터시티 정책이 초기에 중단되었던 이유라고 할 수 있다. 결론적으로 로머 교수의 차터시티 정책은 이론적으로 훌륭해 보이지만, 실제 추진에 있어서는 비현실적이라고 할 수 있으며, 재산권 보장 등 기본적인 법치가 취약하고 정부가 신뢰받지 못하는 국가일수록 더욱 그렇다고 결론내릴 수 있다. As a practitioner of economic thinking, Romer (2009) suggested a creative idea which is to build up new, startup-like charter cities in developing countries and make them revolutionary, reform zones, or experimental zones. One basic premise of his model is to designate a big empty land as a CC where foreign rules govern like Hong Kong under British rule in China and allow people to voluntarily move in the CC. The CC itself can be a credible commitment through which a nation can resolve the problem of distrust in government and the rule of law. By creating extraterritorial zones like CC, the host country can free itself from the lack of trust and attract foreign capital. Despite its economic promises, however, the CC turned out to be extremely difficult to implement as a policy for many reasons. In studying the CC model Honduras pursued, ‘institutional’ thinking gives a lot of insights on the efficacy of formal rules of the CC. First. Foreign rules cannot be easily ‘transplanted’ across borders. Institutions are ‘sticky’. Informal norms are crucial in implementing formal policies such as SEZ development. When people’s beliefs, cultures, and norms do not support formal rules, change in formal rules is not so effective. Honduras amended its constitution to give a formal standing to the CC, but Honduran society was not ready to accept what they thought as such ‘neo-liberal’ or ‘utopian enclave’ policies. Second, in Honduras where fundamental rights such as property rights and public safety are not secured, it is unlikely that the right to migrate or ‘vote with foot’, which is the core element of the CC, will be protected. The CC s success is less likely in this nation. Third, to make the matter worse, the Honduran government was not credible at all. In the process of CC policy unfolding, the Honduran government failed to commit the promise ‘to be transparent’ to Romer, the icon of the CC project, and exposed a high level of government risk to the outside world. Fourth, foreign rules and jurisdiction of the CC might lead to the gradual erosion of national sovereignty. The CC as an extraterritorial zone was criticized for the re-emergence of a ‘colonial city’ in Honduras in the past. In the end, CC policy was doomed to face the great opposition and resistance of the general public and stakeholders in Honduras This is why the once hopeful policy became aborted early even before it blossomed. Professor Romer s CC policy looks great in theory, but it looks very unreal in practice. It is more so when it is taken in nations where fundamental rule of law such as property rights and public safety is weak and the government is not trusted.

Dark matter search in nucleon, pion, and electron channels from a proton beam dump with MiniBooNE

Aguilar-Arevalo, A. A.,Backfish, M.,Bashyal, A.,Batell, B.,Brown, B. C.,Carr, R.,Chatterjee, A.,Cooper, R. L.,deNiverville, P.,Dharmapalan, R.,Djurcic, Z.,Ford, R.,Garcia, F. G.,Garvey, G. T.,Grange, American Physical Society 2018 Physical Review D Vol.98 No.11

Dark Matter Search in a Proton Beam Dump with MiniBooNE

Aguilar-Arevalo, A. A.,Backfish, M.,Bashyal, A.,Batell, B.,Brown, B. C.,Carr, R.,Chatterjee, A.,Cooper, R. L.,deNiverville, P.,Dharmapalan, R.,Djurcic, Z.,Ford, R.,Garcia, F. G.,Garvey, G. T.,Grange, American Physical Society 2017 Physical Review Letters Vol.118 No.22

Inside-Out Approach of Lumbar Endoscopic Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression: A Detailed Technical Description, Rationale and Outcomes

임강택,Elmer Jose Arevalo Meceda,박춘근 대한척추신경외과학회 2020 Neurospine Vol.17 No.sup.

Although lumbar stenosis was recognized as a contraindication for endoscopic spine surgery in the past, the advancement in endoscopic system design and development of approach techniques and strategies now enabled the endoscopic spine surgeons to manage all types of lumbar stenosis safely and more effectively. A full-endoscopic lumbar technique for surgical management of spinal canal stenosis is now used today in many advanced spine centers around the world as one of their standard procedures which can be done under general, regional, local anesthesia with sedation. In this technical report, we described in detail the inside-out approach of performing lumbar endoscopic unilateral laminotomy with bilateral decompression (LE-ULBD) and retrospectively reviewed hospital records of 127 patients who underwent the approach from December 2018 to March 2019 to address 1 level lumbar spinal stenosis and determined its outcome after 12-month follow-up period. Perioperative outcomes, operation time, length of hospital stay, and surgical complications were recorded and analyzed. The cross-sectional area of the thecal sac at the operated level was measured. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was assessed preoperatively, 1 month, and 12 months as well as the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The data were statistically analyzed (using SPSS ver. 17.0). The inside-out approach LE-ULBD was shown to effect statistically significant improvement in the VAS of leg and back pain as well as the ODI. It is a familiar, safe, and effective way of performing spinal stenosis decompression with good reproducible outcomes.

Ankyrin Repeat-Rich Membrane Spanning/Kidins220 Protein Interacts with Mammalian Septin 5

Han Jeong Park,박환우,이신재,Juan Carlos Arevalo,박영석,이승표,Ki-Suk Paik,Moses V. Chao,장미숙 한국분자세포생물학회 2010 Molecules and cells Vol.30 No.2

Neurotrophin receptors utilize specific adaptor proteins to activate signaling pathways involved in various neuronal functions, such as neurite outgrowth and cytoskeletal re-modeling. The Ankyrin-Repeat Rich Membrane Spanning (ARMS)/kinase D-interacting substrate-220 kDa (Kidins220) serves as a unique downstream adaptor protein of Trk receptor tyrosine kinases. To gain insight into the role of ARMS/Kidins220, a yeast two-hybrid screen of a rat dorsal root ganglion library was performed using the C-terminal region of ARMS/Kidins220 as bait. The screen identified a mammalian septin, Septin 5 (Sept5), as an interacting pro-tein. Co-immunoprecipitation using lysates from tran-siently transfected HEK-293 cells revealed the specific interaction between ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5. Endoge-nous ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5 proteins were co-localized in primary hippocampal neurons and were also predominantly expressed at the plasma membrane and in the tips of growing neurites in nerve growth factor-treated PC12 cells. Mapping of Sept5 domains important for ARMS/Kidins220 binding revealed a highly conserved N-terminal region of Sept5. The direct interaction between ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5 suggests a possible role of ARMS/Kidins220 as a functional link between neurotrophin receptors and septins to mediate neurotrophin-induced intracellular signaling events, such as neurite outgrowth and cytoskeletal remodeling.

A survey using constraints to decision-making for fault tolerance in Business processes

M. T. Gomez-Lopez,Rafael Martinez Gasca,Carlos Arevalo Maldonado 보안공학연구지원센터 2010 International Journal of Software Engineering and Vol.4 No.4

Hypocholesterolemia in Patients with an Amebic Liver Abscess

( Maria S Flores ),( Adriana Obregon Cardenas ),( Eva Tamez ),( Elba Rodriguez ),( Katiushka Arevalo ),( Isela Quintero ),( Rolando Tijerina ),( Francisco Bosques ),( Luis Galan ) 대한소화기학회 2014 Gut and Liver Vol.8 No.4

Background/Aims: Many parasites induce changes in the lipid profiles of the host. Cholesterol increases the virulence of Entamoeba histolytica in animal models and in vitro culture. This study aimed to determine, in patients with an amebic liver abscess, the correlation between cholesterol and other features, such as the size and number of abscesses, standard hematological and serum chemistry profiles, liver tests, and duration of hospital stay. Methods: A total of 108 patients with an amebic liver abscess and 140 clinically healthy volunteers were investigated. Cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in the sera. The data from medical observations and laboratory tests were obtained from the clinical records. Results: A total of 93% of patients with an amebic liver abscess showed hypocholesterolemia not related to any of the studied parameters. Liver function tests correlated with the size of the abscess. The most severe cases of amebic liver disease or death were found in patients whose cholesterol levels continued to decrease despite receiving antiamebic treatment and hospital care. Conclusions: Our results show that the hypocholesterolemia observed in patients with an amebic liver abscess is not related to any of the clinical and laboratory features analyzed. This is the first study relating hypocholesterolemia to severity of hepatic amebiasis. (Gut Liver 2014;8:415-420)

Ankyrin Repeat-Rich Membrane Spanning/Kidins220 Protein Interacts with Mammalian Septin 5

Park, Han-Jeong,Park, Hwan-Woo,Lee, Shin-Jae,Arevalo, Juan Carlos,Park, Young-Seok,Lee, Seung-Pyo,Paik, Ki-Suk,Chao, Moses V.,Chang, Mi-Sook Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2010 Molecules and cells Vol.30 No.2

Neurotrophin receptors utilize specific adaptor proteins to activate signaling pathways involved in various neuronal functions, such as neurite outgrowth and cytoskeletal remodeling. The Ankyrin-Repeat Rich Membrane Spanning (ARMS)/kinase D-interacting substrate-220 kDa (Kidins220) serves as a unique downstream adaptor protein of Trk receptor tyrosine kinases. To gain insight into the role of ARMS/Kidins220, a yeast two-hybrid screen of a rat dorsal root ganglion library was performed using the C-terminal region of ARMS/Kidins220 as bait. The screen identified a mammalian septin, Septin 5 (Sept5), as an interacting protein. Co-immunoprecipitation using lysates from transiently transfected HEK-293 cells revealed the specific interaction between ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5. Endogenous ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5 proteins were colocalized in primary hippocampal neurons and were also predominantly expressed at the plasma membrane and in the tips of growing neurites in nerve growth factor-treated PC12 cells. Mapping of Sept5 domains important for ARMS/Kidins220 binding revealed a highly conserved N-terminal region of Sept5. The direct interaction between ARMS/Kidins220 and Sept5 suggests a possible role of RMS/Kidins220 as a functional link between neurotrophin receptors and septins to mediate neurotrophin-induced intracellular signaling events, such as neurite outgrowth and cytoskeletal remodeling.