• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1149-1155
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• 2020

Silage is one of the main feed components of ruminants around the world and can make up about 50-80% of the rations of dairy cows during the winter. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) aqueous and ethanol extracts to improve the hygienic quality of perennial ryegrass, red clover and blue alfalfa silage samples and estimate their effect on mycotoxins concentrations. Under laboratory conditions, 63 silage samples (21 perennial ryegrass, 21 blue alfalfa, 21 red clover) were fermented with inserted aqueous and ethanol extracts of oregano and thyme and two commercial inoculants with mesophilic lactic acid bacteria. After 96 days of fermentation, in silage samples were established fermentation parameters, microbiological status and mycotoxins concentrations. It was determined that the best results for achieving hygienic quality of perennial ryegrass and red clover silage samples was by insertion of aqueous and ethanol extracts of oregano and thyme. In blue alfalfa samples, the best results of silage hygienic indicators were determined by inserting aqueous and ethanol extracts of oregano. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA) and T-2 toxin concentrations in perennial ryegrass, red clover and blue alfalfa silage samples were best reduced by inserting aqueous and ethanol extracts of oregano and thyme. The present study shows that these extracts can be used to improve silage hygienic quality, reduce mycotoxins concentrations and thus ensure the wellness of cattle.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2008

Mycobacterium fortuitum usually causes colonization or transient infection in patients with underlying lung disease, such as prior tuberculosis or bronchiectasis. The majority of these patients may not need to receive antibiotic therapy for M. fortuitum isolates. We report here on a patient with M. fortuitum lung disease and who was successfully treated with combination oral antibiotic therapy. A 53-year-old woman was referred to our institution because of purulent sputum and dyspnea. A chest radiograph and computed tomography scan revealed cavitary consolidation in the left upper lobe and multiple small cavities in the left lower lobe. Numerous acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were seen in multiple sputum specimens and M. fortuitum was identified by culture from the sputum specimens. The patient received antibiotic treatment including clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, because her symptoms were worsening despite conservative treatment. Sputum conversion was achieved after one month of antibiotic therapy. Both the patient's symptoms and radiographic findings improved after 10 months of antibiotic therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.644-650
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• 1994

Sarcoidosis can affect two or more members of the same family, and the reported occurrence of such familial sarcoidosis is variable from 0.5 to 14%. Recent1y we have experienced familial sarcoidosis affected mother and daughter, for the first time in Korea. Mother was diagnosed as Stage 11 sarcoidosis 4 years ago by transbronchial lung biopsy and cervical lymph node biopsy with compatible BAL finding in our hospital. This time, the daughter was admitted with bilateral hilar enlargement and anterior uveitis. Even though she had positive tuberculin skin test and atypical BAL finding(lymphocyte: 61%, CD4/CD8: 1.22). Transbronchial lung biopsy and mediastinal lymph node biopsy revealed noncaseating epithelioid granuloma without AFB. Slit lamp examination of the eyes showed severe anterior uveitis. Systemic steroid therapy was started due to progressive uveitis with antituberculous medication.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.334-345
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• 2001

Background : Pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) is still prevalent and remains a significant clinical problem for the elderly. However, the disease presents in many ways, and there are frequent adverse drug reactions that may prevent the early diagnosis and treatment of elderly TB patients compared to the young. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there are any differences in the clinical feature of pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) in both the diagnosis and treatment between the young (less than 64 years) and the elderly (65 years and more). Methods : The medical records of 125 young and 70 elderly pulmonary TB patients, who were diagnosed with and treated for pulmonary TB at the Seoul Municipal Boramae Hospital from November 1991 to January 1997, were analyzed retrospectively. Results : Anorexia(12% vs. 31.4%), general weakness (20.0% vs. 54.3%), dyspnea(21.6% vs. 37.1%) and an abnormal mentality (0.8% vs. 15.7%) were more frequent presenting symptoms in elderly TB patients, whereas hemoptysis (32.8% vs. 10.0%) and fever (BT > $37^{\circ}C$, 58.4% vs. 35.7%) were more frequent in the young. The elderly had a higher number of cardiovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases as underlying illnesses. In chest PA, there were no differences in the location of the TB lesion, but the appearances were initially diagnosed more frequently as pneumonia or lung cancer (8.8% vs. 30.0%, p<0.05) in the elderly. There was no difference in the detection rate of acid fast bacilli(AFB) in the sputum between the two groups. There were no differences in the treatment response and follow-up loss. However, adverse drug reactions (13.6% vs. 45.7%, p<0.05), and changes in medication (4.9% vs. 25.7%, p<0.05) during treatment occurred more frequently in the elderly. One among the 125 young patients died from tuberculosis whereas 6 among the 70 elderly patients died from the disease. Conclusion : Because the clinical and radiological presentations were more atypical, a sputum AFB smear and culture should be done immediately in the elderly who are TB. The elderly experienced more frequent adverse drug reactions and mortality during treatment, but the response to treatment was good and rapid.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.290-300
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• 1998

Background: CYFRA 21-1 is a tumor marker which measures a fragment of cytokeratin 19 expressed by epithelial cells in bronchus. It is known that cytokeratin 19 is abundant in squamous epithelial cell cancer of the lung. However, if the incidence of elevated serum CYFRA 21-1 level in patients with benign lung diseases or pulmonary tuberculosis with severe parenchymal damage is high the specificity of CYFRA 21-1 could be decreased. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes of serum CYFRA 21-1 according to the degree of parenchymal damage and the usefulness of CYFRA 21-1 for diagnosing possibly combined lung cancer in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Method: We studied the changes of serum CYFRA 21-1 according to the sputum AFB stain, radiologic manifestation and history of treatment in 81 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and 20 healthy persons, 25 patients with lung cancer, as a control group. CYFRA 21-1 concentration in serum was quantified by the immunoradiometry assay(Centocor$^{(R)}$). Result: The results were as follow; Serum CYFRA 21-1 level was significantly lower in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis($1.54{\pm}1.19ng/mL$, p<0.01) as compared to patients with lung cancer($12.25{\pm}15.97ng/mL$), and was slightly higher than the level in heathy persons($0.90{\pm}0.49ng/mL$) but there was no significant difference. Serum CYFRA 21-1 level was below the cut-off value of 3.3ng/mL in 95 percent of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis but it was above the cut-off value in 64 percent of patients with lung cancer. Serum CYFRA 21-1 level was significantly higher in the initial treatment group($1.91{\pm}1.55ng/mL$, p<0.05) as compared to the treatment. failure group ($0.92{\pm}0.30ng/mL$). According to the sputum AFB smear, serum CYFRA 21-1 level in patients with negative result was slightly higher than the level in patients with positive result but there was no significant difference. According to the radiologic manifestation, serum CYFRA 21-1 level was significantly higher in patients with infiltrative lesion ($2.15{\pm}1.63ng/mL$, p<0.01) as compared to patients with destructive lesion ($l.04{\pm}0.54ng/mL$). As the size of cavity or destructive lesion was larger, the level was significantly lower(p<0.05). Conclusion: As serum CYFRA 21-1 level was significantly higher in the initial treatment group and patients with infiltrative lesion, it suppose to be closely related with the degree of parenchymal damage of the lung of the pulmonary tuberculosis. However CYFRA 21-1 could be useful method for diagnosing lung cancer even in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis combined with lung cancer because of the fact that it was below the cutoff value of 3.3ng/mL in 95 percent of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.935-941
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• 1998

Background: As living and dead Mycobacteria could be amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR), it was considered that PCR was inappropriate for the monitoring of pulmonary tuberculosis after treatment. But we found negative conversion of PCR after successful treatment. We would like to know about the negative conversion rate of PCR and its conversion time after antituberculous treatment. Methods: We collected 113 sputums from the 16 patients of pulmonary tuberculsosis visiting Catholic University Hospital of Taegu Hyosung. We consecutively tested AFB smear, AFB culture and PCR by 2 to 4 weeks after antituberculous therapy. The patients were classified according to the chest X ray findings. Results: We detected negative conversion of PCR from all 16 patients of the pulmonary tuberculosis within 30 weeks after treatment. The average negative conversion time was $16{\pm}8$ weeks. The conversion time according to the chest X -ray findings were as follows : For the 8 cases of minimum were $9{\pm}5$ weeks, 4 cases of modreate advanced were $20{\pm}8$ weeks, and 4 cases of far advanced were $23{\pm}2$ weeks. The product of PCR was gradually decreased according to the duration of treatment. Conclusions: From the results of our study, we could utilize M. tubercuosis PCR for the prediction of therapy response and monitoring of the patient with pulmonary tuberculosis after treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 1999

The accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) of the lymph node was investigated through a review of 176 FNAC cases and the corresponding biopsies. We chose 157 FNAC cases after the exclusion of 19 inadequate ones. Sensitivity of malignancy was 94.0%, specificity 100%, false negativity 6.0%, and false positivity 0.0%. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 96.8%. Sensitivity of metastatic carcinoma was 98.0% and that of malignant lymphoma was 87.9%. False negative cases included one metastatic carcinoma and four malignant lymphomas. The aspirates of metastatic carcinoma with false negativity exhibited a diffuse smear of keratin debris without viable cells, which led to the difficulty in differentiation from benign epithelial cyst. The cases of malignant lymphoma with false negative diagnosis were two Hodgkin diseases, one Lennert's lymphoma, and one peripheral T cell lymphoma in the histologic sections. On the analysis of 39 cases of tuberculosis, 17 cases(43.6%) were diagnosed as tuberculosis, 4(10.3%) as granulomatous lymphadenitis, 3(7.7%) as necrotizing lymphadenitis, and 15(38.5%) as reactive hyperplasia or pyogenic inflammation. Sensitivity of tuberculosis was 53.9%. In conclusion, lymph node FNAC is an excellent non-invasive diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma. The diagnostic accuracy of malignant lymphoma could be improved with flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction for antigen receptor genes. For the FNAC diagnosis of tuberculosis, AFB stain, culture, and PCR would be helpful as adjuvant techniques.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.531-535
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• 2007

The esophagus is a rate site for rarely involved site of tuberculosis. The most common cause of esophageal tuberculosis is secondary involvement from adjacent tuberculous lymphadenitis. Esophago-nodal or esophagobronchial fistulas may be formed when tuberculous lymph nodes erode the adjacent esophageal or bronchial wall. We report a patient diagnosed with esophageal tuberculosis, which was complicated by an esophago-mediastinal fistula, by endoscopy, sputum acid fast bacilli (AFB) stain, chest computed tomography (CT), and an esophagogram. The patient was treated with antituberculous agents and chest CT and endoscopy showed that the fistula had closed completely.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.143-162
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• 1972

Based on the concentration of $^{40}K$ naturally occurring radioisotope of potassium, a method for the determination of total potassium in soils and plants was developed. The method was extended to evaluate the potassium supplying power of soils by taking the ratio of exchangeable potassium to total potassium $(K_{ex}/K_t)$, termed the potassium buffering capacity. Using this as index, it was observed that the release of potassium from soil fellows the from order reaction. A linear relationship was found between the potassium buffering capacity and the release constant of potassium or mica content of the clay. Similarly the potassium buffering capacity was also closely correlated with total uptake of potassium by rice plant. Hence it is concluded that the method for determining of the potassium buffering capacity could be veil applied to characterize the potassium availability of soils. The method for the determination of potassium is characterized by (1) The efficient measurement of the weak beta activity emissions from the samples, (2) identification of $^{40}K$, (3) calculation of total potassium content using the proportional constant of $^{40}K$ of samples to that of the standard. Difference in the potassium supplying power of soils due to soil types was also evaluated with the use of this technique. The degree of the potassium supplying power was in the order of soil types as red-yellow podzolic and lateric soils, basaltic materials(Rvd)> low-humic gley and alluvial soils, alluvial plains and food plains(Apa)> low-humic gley soils, nearly level to sloping local alluvial plains and slopes(Afb)> low-humic gley and alluvial soils, fluvio-marine plains (Fma).

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.71 no.3
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• pp.221-224
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• 2011

Poncet's disease is an aseptic polyarthritis developing in the presence of active Tuberculosis occurring elsewhere, and is not due to direct involvement of joints but to an immunological reaction to tuberculoprotein. We experienced a case of Poncet's disease accompanying erythema nodosum in a 55-year-old female patient with pulmonary tuberculosis. She had multiple tender erythematous nodules on both lower limbs for 3 months and a cough and sputum from one month ago. She felt severe pain in both knees and ankles with swelling one week before admission. Her chest X-ray, computed tomography (CT) scan and positive sputum AFB stain results revealed that she had active pulmonary tuberculosis accompanying erythema nodosum and aseptic polyarthritis. Her arthritis and erythema nodosum were dramatically improved within four weeks after anti-tuberculosis therapy. We report a case of Poncet's disease in pulmonary tuberculosis accompanying erythema nodosum.