• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2013

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic parasitic infection in the Mediterranean region, including Libya and its Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We aimed at studying the occupational relevance as well as other epidemiological aspects of CL. We investigated 140 CL cases who attended at Gharyan outpatient polyclinic during a period of 6 months in 2009. CL infection was clinically diagnosed and confirmed by demonstration of Leishmania parasites on smears from lesions. Our findings showed that males were more affected than females (P=0.04), and people above 10-years were more affected than younger ones (P=0.0001). A significant percent of CL cases belonged to Al-Kawasem subprovince (P=0.0001). Farm-related activities were the most frequent occupations among CL cases (P=0.04). In addition to farm workers, housewives and students are at risk groups since they are engaged at farm activities. Moreover, those who have occupations that require staying outdoors for a part of night, e.g., policemen, are also at risk. Compared to children, adult CL patients had multiple lesions (P=0.001) that were more prevalent in their upper and lower extremities than the face (P=0.0001). We conclude that CL is a major health problem in Al-jabal Al-gharbi province of Libya. The presence of rodents and sandflies makes it a suitable environment for Leishmania to spread in an endemic epidemiological pattern. Being engaged in farming activities or outdoor occupations increases the risk of infection. Various clinical patterns of CL suggest the presence of more than 1 species of Leishmania at Al-jabal Al-gharbi province. We propose that the 2 species responsible for CL in this area are L. major and L. tropica. Further investigations to identify the leishmanial species responsible for CL at Al-jabal Al-gharbi together with adoption of preventive and control programs are needed.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.457-462
• /
• 2008

Lactococcus lactis NK34, isolated from jeotgal (Korean traditional fermented fish), produces bacteriocin against bovine mastitis pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus 7, S. aureus 8, Staphylococcus chromogenes 10, S. chromogenes 19, Staphylococcus hominis 9, Streptococcus uberis E290, Enterococcus faecium E372, Streptococcus agalactiae ATCC 13813, Pseudonocardia autotrophia KCTC 9455, and Staphylococcus simulans 78. Lacticin NK34 was inactivated by protease XIV but not by protease IX, protease XIII, proteinase K, $\acute{a}$-chymotrypsin, trypsin, and pepsin. Also, lacticin NK34 was stable over a pH range of 2 to 9 for 4 hr and withstood exposure to temperatures of 30-$100^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. Lacticin NK34 showed bactericidal effects against S. simulans 78. This bacteriocin was purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography, ultrafiltration, and hydrophobic chromatography. Tricin-SDS-PAGE of purified bacteriocin gave the same molecular weight (3.5 kDa) as nisin. The gene encoding this bacteriocin was amplified by PCR using nisin gene-specific primers. It showed similar sequences to this nisin Z gene. These results indicate that lacticin NK34 is a nisin-like bacteriocin, and could be used as an antimicrobial alternative for livestock.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.10 no.11
• /
• pp.481-489
• /
• 2019

This study was conducted to identify the effect of laughter therapy on the moods, pain and stress of the patients in a hospice ward. Participants were divided as control (23 patients), and experimental group (26 patients). Laughter therapy was provided for 5 days, and 20-30 minutes per day. Data collected on the $3^{rd}$ and $8^{th}$ day, respectively, were analyzed using SPSS win 24.0 program, Chi-square test, fisher's exact test, Independent-test, and Mann-Whitney U test. Experimental groups showed the significant differences in Mood (t= -12.88, p<.001), Pain (t= -6.38, p<.001) and Stress (z= -6.03, p<.001). Conclusion: Laughter therapy was an effective nursing intervention to relieve the negative mood condition, pain and stress on patients, as one of the daily nursing services in the hospice ward.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2015.05a
• /
• pp.168-168
• /
• 2015

자연하천의 주요한 특징 중 하나인 하천의 사행은 직선수로에서 예측되는 유속분포를 왜곡시키며 매우 복잡한 흐름구조를 형성한다. 이는 하상 경계면에서 발생하는 전단응력 분포의 변화를 야기하는데 하상 경계면에서의 전단응력은 다양한 경험적 관계에 의존하는 유사이동의 한계 소류력 산정 및 오염물질 거동해석의 분산계수 산정에 많은 영향을 미치게 된다. 물리적인 관측을 통한 하상 경계면에서의 전단응력의 관측은 다소 제한적이며 많은 비용을 요구한다. 따라서 하상 경계면에서 발생하는 전단응력의 경우 수심의 20% 이하의 연직 유속분포를 벽법칙에 적용하여 추정하는 방법이 주로 이루어지고 있다. 벽법칙을 이용한 하상 경계면의 전단응력을 계산하는 경우 대수중복층의 유속 분포 $u/u^*=(1/{\kappa})ln(zu^*/{\nu})+B$에서 무차원상수 ${\kappa}$와 B의 적절한 추정이 요구되어 진다. 일반적으로 무차원상수 ${\kappa}$와 B는 수리학적으로 매끄러운 벽면에서 대략 ${\kappa}=0.4$, B=5.5로서 경험적으로 이용되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 직선수로 및 다양한 사행수로의 3차원 흐름장 모의를 수행하여 벽법칙의 대수 중복층을 따르는 주흐름 방향 유속의 연직분포를 비교하였다. 수치모의 소프트웨어로서 Linux 기반의 OpenFOAM이 사용되었으며 모델의 검증을 위해 Chang(1971)에 의해 수행 된 사행수로에서의 유속장 관측 결과와 비교하였고 수치모의 결과가 실험 관측치와 잘 일치하는 것으로 판단되었다. 수치모의에 적용 된 사행수로의 형상은 Hey(1976)에 의해 제안 된 사행하천의 지형학적 인자들 간에 관계를 이용하여 사행도 1.03에서 2.42까지 총 7개의 사행수로 지형을 생성하였다. 사행도의 변화에 따라 만곡부 정점에서 대수중복층 구간의 주흐름 방향 유속의 연직분포를 비교한 결과, 본 연구에서 생성 된 모든 사행수로에서 대수중복층 구간의 무차원 유속 $u^+$와 무차원 거리 $z^+$가 로그 분포를 따르는 것으로 나타났으나 경험적으로 사용되었던 무차원상수 B의 경우 사행도가 증가 할수록 대수적으로 감소하는 경향이 나타났다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 관계가 무차원 상수 B값에 미치는 영향을 반영하여 수리학적으로 매끄러운 벽면에서 적용이 가능한 수정된 대수중복층 식을 제시하고자 한다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.10
• /
• pp.1343-1349
• /
• 2021

Cockroaches live in places where various pathogens exist and thus are more likely to use antimicrobial compounds to defend against pathogen intrusions. We previously performed an in silico analysis of the Periplaneta americana transcriptome and detected periplanetasin-5 using an in silico antimicrobial peptide prediction method. In this study, we investigated whether periplanetasin-5 has anticancer activity against the human leukemia cell line K562. Cell growth and survival of K562 cells treated with periplanetasin-5 were decreased in a dose-dependent manner. By using flow cytometric analysis, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining and DNA fragmentation, we found that periplanetasin-5 induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death in leukemia cells. In addition, these events were associated with increased levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins Fas and cytochrome c and reduced levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Periplanetasin-5 induces the cleavage of pro-caspase-9, pro-caspase-8, pro-caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The above data suggest that periplanetasin-5 induces apoptosis via both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. Moreover, caspase-related apoptosis was further confirmed by using the caspase inhibitor carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK), which reversed the periplanetasin-5-induced reduction in cell viability. In conclusion, periplanetasin-5 caused apoptosis in leukemia cells, suggesting its potential utility as an anticancer therapeutic agent.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.430-437
• /
• 2021

In this paper, we propose a robust face recognition method against soft errors with a deep convolutional generative adversarial network(DCGAN) based compensation method by a cross-layer approach. When soft-errors occur in block data of JPEG files, these blocks can be decoded inappropriately. In previous results, these blocks have been replaced using a mean face, thereby improving recognition ratio to a certain degree. This paper uses a DCGAN-based compensation approach to extend the previous results. When soft errors are detected in an embedded system layer using parity bit checkers, they are compensated in the application layer using compensated block data by a DCGAN-based compensation method. Regarding soft errors and block data loss in facial images, a DCGAN architecture is redesigned to compensate for the block data loss. Simulation results show that the proposed method effectively compensates for performance degradation due to soft errors.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.129-137
• /
• 2021

It has been established that the acoustic mode parameters of the Sun and Sun-like stars vary over activity cycles. Since the observed variations are not consistent with an activity-related origin, even Sun-like stars showing out-of-phase changes of mode frequencies and amplitudes need to be carefully studied using other observational quantities. In order to test whether the presumed relations between the global seismic parameters are a signature of the stellar activity cycle, we analyze the photometric light curve of HD 49933 for which the first direct detection of an asteroseismic signature for activity-induced variations in a Sun-like star was made, using observations by the CoRoT space telescope. We find that the amplitude of the envelope significantly anti-correlates with both the maximum frequency of the envelope and the width of the envelope unless superflare-like events completely contaminate the light curve. However, even though the photometric proxy for stellar magnetic activity appears to show relations with the global asteroseismic parameters, they are statistically insignificant. Therefore, we conclude that the global asteroseismic parameters can be utilized in cross-checking asteroseismic detections of activity-related variations in Sun-like stars, and that it is probably less secure and effective to construct a photometric magnetic activity proxy to indirectly correlate the global asteroseismic parameters. Finally, we seismically estimate the mass of HD 49933 based on our determination of the large separation of HD 49933 with evolutionary tracks computed by the MESA code and find a value of about 1.2M_☉ and a sub-solar metallicity of Z = 0.008, which agrees with the current consensus and with asteroseismic and non-asteroseismic data.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.127-134
• /
• 2021

This study aims to determine the role of innovative capabilities as a mediator in analyzing entrepreneurial marketing's effect on sustainable competitive advantage in food and beverage micro-, small-, and medium- enterprises (MSMEs). Data was obtained from a food and beverage store manager in Tangerang City, comprising 119 samples. Furthermore, the G⁎Power, a tool used to calculate statistical power analysis for various t-tests, F tests, χ2 tests, z tests, and several exact tests, was used to determine the number of research samples, the α error probability of 5%, and 3 variables. The data collection method used questionnaires with Likert Scale 1-5 to indicate strongly disagree to strongly agree. To analyze data, we used Path Analysis supported by SmartPLS statistics software. Path analysis is a form of multiple regression statistical analysis that is used to evaluate causal models by examining the relationships between a dependent variable and two or more independent variables. It aims to provide estimates of the magnitude and significance of hypothesized causal connections between sets of variables. The data processing process took place in two stages, namely the estimation model testing with validity and reliability, and the structural model testing to decide the impact or correlation between variables utilizing the t-test. The result showed a positive and significant effect of entrepreneurial marketing to innovative capability and competitive advantage through the innovative capability of MSMEs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.520-528
• /
• 2021

Plesiomonas shigelloides, a member of the family Vibrionaceae, is a gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacterium with flagella. P. shigelloides has been isolated from such sources as freshwater, surface water, and many wild and domestic animals. P. shigelloides contains 102 O-antigens and 51 H-antigens. The diversity of O-antigen gene clusters is relatively poorly understood. In addition to O1 and O17 reported by other laboratories, and the 12 O serogroups (O2, O10, O12, O23, O25, O26, O32, O33, O34, O66, O75, and O76) reported previously by us, in the present study, nine new P. shigelloides serogroups (O8, O17, O18, O37, O38, O39, O44, O45, and O61) were sequenced and annotated. The genes for the O-antigens of these nine groups are clustered together in the chromosome between rep and aqpZ. Only O38 possesses the wzm and wzt genes for the synthesis and translocation of O-antigens via the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter pathway; the other eight use the Wzx/Wzy pathway. Phylogenetic analysis using wzx and wzy showed that both genes are diversified. Among the nine new P. shigelloides serogroups, eight use wzx/wzy genes as targets. In addition, we developed an O-antigen-specific PCR assay to detect these nine distinct serogroups with no cross reactions among them.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.155-162
• /
• 2018

Background: In ecosystem carbon cycle studies, distinguishing between $CO_2$ emitted by roots and by microbes remains very difficult because it is mixed before being released into the atmosphere. Currently, no method for quantifying root and microbial respiration is effective. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between soil respiration and underground root biomass at varying distances from the tree and tested possibilities for measuring root and microbial respiration. Methods: Soil respiration was measured by the closed chamber method, in which acrylic collars were placed at regular intervals from the tree base. Measurements were made irregularly during one season, including high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in autumn; the soil's temperature and moisture content were also collected. After measurements, roots of each plot were collected, and their dry matter biomass measured to analyze relationships between root biomass and soil respiration. Results: Apart from root biomass, which affects soil's temperature and moisture, no other factors affecting soil respiration showed significant differences between measuring points. At each point, soil respiration showed clear seasonal variations and high exponential correlation with increasing soil temperatures. The root biomass decreased exponentially with increasing distance from the tree. The rate of soil respiration was also highly correlated exponentially with root biomass. Based on these results, the average rate of root respiration in the soil was estimated to be 34.4% (26.6~43.1%). Conclusions: In this study, attempts were made to differentiate the root respiration rate by analyzing the distribution of root biomass and resulting changes in soil respiration. As distance from the tree increased, root biomass and soil respiration values were shown to strongly decrease exponentially. Root biomass increased logarithmically with increases in soil respiration. In addition, soil respiration and underground root biomass were logarithmically related; the calculated root-breathing rate was around 44%. This study method is applicable for determining root and microbial respiration in forest ecosystem carbon cycle research. However, more data should be collected on the distribution of root biomass and the correlated soil respiration.