• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate the effects of the stocking density (standard stocking density (SSD, $495cm^2/bird$)) vs. high stocking density (HSD,245cm2/bird) and challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5mg/kg BW) on the stress-related physiological indicators in chicks. There was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in body weight, but not in the weight of immune organs, between the SSD and HSD groups. The LPS group resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in the weights of the thymus and bursa of fabricius compared with the SSD group. Plasma biochemical components, including aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen, Ca, P, creatine kinase and uric acid, markedly (p<0.05) increased in the LPS birds, although no difference in these parameters was observed between the SSD and HSD birds. Furthermore, the birds challenged with LPS showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the plasma corticosterone level, although this hormone did not differ between the SSD and HSD groups. In the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, hepatic $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and iNOS in the LPS group significantly (p<0.05) increased compared with those in the SSD group. Thymic mRNA expression of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and IL-18 in the LPS group also significantly (p<0.05) increased compared with those in the other groups. In addition, mRNA expression of $IL-1{\beta}$ in the bursa of fabricius of the LPS group increased (p<0.05) without affecting the other cytokines. Under high stocking density, thymic $IL-1{\beta}$ was the only cytokine that was up-regulated compared with the SSD group. In conclusion, an acute stress induced by LPS challenge profoundly affected immune organ weight, blood biochemical profiles and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, while chronic stress did not markedly affect biochemical and immunological parameters, suggesting that chicks under high stocking density could be adapted to prolonged stressors.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.437-449
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• 2001

Background : In the severe community-acquired pneumonia, it has been known that the immune status is occasionally suppressed. This study was performed to identify the immunologic markers related with the prognostic factors in severe community-acquired pneumonia. Methods : 23 patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia were involved in this study, and divided into survivor (16) and nonsurvivor (7) groups. In this study, the medical history, laboratory tests(complete blood counts, routine chemistry profile, immunoglobulins, complements, lymphocyte subsets, cytokines, sputum and blood culture, urine analysis), and chest radiographs were scrutinized. Results : 1) Both groups had lymphopenia(total lymphocyte count $995.6{\pm}505.7/mm^3$ in the survivor and $624.0{\pm}287.6/mm^3$ in the nonsurvivor group). 2) The T-lymphocyte count of the nonsurvivor group($295.9{\pm}203.0/mm^3$) was lower than the survivor group($723.6{\pm}406.5/mm^3$) (p<0.05). 3) The total serum protein(albumin) was $6.0{\pm}1.0(2.7{\pm}0.7)\;g/d{\ell}$ in the survivor and $5.2{\pm}1.5(2.3{\pm}0.8)g/d{\ell}$ in the nonsurvivor group. The BUN of the nonsurvivor group($41.7{\pm}30.0mg/d{\ell}$) was higher than that of the survivor group($18.9{\pm}9.8mg/d{\ell}$)(p<0.05). The creatinine concentration was higher in the nonsurvivor group($1.8{\pm}1.0mg/d{\ell}$) than that in the survivor group($1.0{\pm}0.3mg/d{\ell}$)(p<0.05). 4) The immunoglobulin G level was higher in the survivor group($1433.0{\pm}729.5mg/d{\ell}$) than in the nonsurvivor group($849.1{\pm}373.1mg/d{\ell}$) (p<0.05). 5) The complement $C_3$ level was $108.0{\pm}37.9mg/d{\ell}$ in the survivor group and $88.0{\pm}32.1mg/d{\ell}$ in the nonsurvivor group. 6) A cytokine study showed an insignificant difference in both groups. 7) Chronic liver disease, DM, and COPD were major underlying diseases in both groups. Conclusion : These results suggest that decreased a T-lymphocyte count and immunoglobulin G level, and an increased BUN and creatinine level may be associated with the poor prognosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.306-309
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• 2005

Purpose : The aim of study is to investigate the clinical manifestations and the etiology of markedly-elevated serum alkaline phosphatase(ALP) levels in children without accompanying liver or bone disease. Methods : The serum ALP and other biochemical laboratory data of 4,989 patients attending the pediatric department of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between January 2002 to December 2002 were studied. The subjects' ages ranged from 4 months to 14 years. Among them, serum ALP levels were markedly elevated over 1,000 IU/L in 114 children. Among those 114 children, 97 children without liver or bone disease were reviewed retrospectively. Results : Of the 114 children with serum ALP activity of over 1,000 IU/L, 97(85.8 percent) children had neither liver or bone disease. The average ALP activity level was $1,539{\pm}948IU/L$. The male : female ratio was 1 : 0.7. Forty-four children(45.3 percent) were between 4 months to 1-year-old, 19 children(19.3 percent) were between 1- to 2-year-old. We observed a seasonal clustering of cases in during October with 10 cases(10.2 percent) and in during December with 11 cases(11.3 percent). The most common clinical presentation was respiratory tract infection in 25 cases(26.9 percent), and acute gastroenteritis in 17 cases(17.5 percent). Forty-four cases had follow-up ALP activity level, 1 month later and the activity decreased under 1,000 IU/L in 37 cases(84 percent). Conclusion : Hyperphosphatasemia is a benign and transient phenomenon. If there are no clinical and laboratory abnormalities of liver and bone, we suggest monitoring monitor the high serum ALP level 1 month later. If decreased, it seems that it is not necessary for specific examinations to exclude other diseases of malignant condition.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2008

The Siberian ginseng and Eucommia are a kind of medicinal plant with powerful anti-oxidant activity. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Siberian ginseng leaf and Eucommia leaf at level of 0.5% and 1% per feed in Ross commercial broiler for 4 to 35 days of age on performance, organ weight, blood biochemical profiles and telomere quantity. Chickens consuming diets containing 1% Siberian ginseng had higher feed conversion ratio than the other treated chicken during experimental period whereas no significant differences were detected in body weight, weight gain and feed intake. The weight of bursa of fabricius was significantly increased in chickens with dietary supplementation compared with chickens fed control but this was not seen in liver, spleen and thymus. In blood biochemical profiles, chickens with dietary supplementation had higher concentration than chickens fed control in triglyceride, cholesterol and glucose. The concentration of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin and total protein, however, was not significantly different between dietary supplemented chickens and control chickens. The relative amount of telomeric DNA of lymphocytes in chickens with dietary supplementation was significantly higher than that of control chickens but the difference was not found in liver, heart and testis tissues. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of Siberian ginseng and Eucommia in broiler improved immune activity and telomere length without decreasing chicken growth performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.70-77
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• 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of human milk fortifier (HMF) on growth and nutritional status in growing rats fed infant formula supplemented with HMF. Three week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups and fed regular formula (RF), premature formula (PF) and regular formula fortified with HMF (RF+HMF) diets for 3 weeks. There was no significant difference in weight gain among groups. However, a significant increase of food intake was observed in PF and RF+HMF groups compared with RF group. With increasing food intake, the intakes of carbohydrate and protein were significantly increased in PF and RF+HMF groups. The weight of perirenal fat was significantly increased in rats fed RF+HMF; however, the weights of liver, kidney and spleen were not significantly different among groups. Although total lipids, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol concentrations of serum were not significantly different among groups, triglyceride was significantly increased in PF group. The triglyceride and total-cholesterol of liver were significantly increased in rats fed regular formula fortified with HMF and PF compared with RF group. Glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), creatinine (Cre) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in serum showed no significant difference among groups. The concentration of growth hormone was significantly increased in PF group compared with other groups. The concentration of hemoglobin was significantly increased in rats fed PF and RF+HMF. These results suggest that the supplementation of human milk fortifier in growing rats may promote growth as increasing food intake and lipid contents in tissues and prevent the anemia of infants.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 1997

Purpose : Vesicoureteral reflux(VUR) in childhood may be the primary cause of recurrent urinary tract infection and renal scarring. Renal ultrasonography, DMSA, and voiding cystourethrogram are the standard clinical methods for detection of vesicoureteral reflux. But these methods have many disadvantages such as invasiveness and high cost. So, we studied to observe the significance of urine ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin in association with other non-radiologic methods for predictng vesicoureteral reflux. Methods : We evaluated 40 patients with urinary tract infection who were admitted to Korea university Hospital from July 1993 to June 1994. Among them, 24 patients revealed urinary tract infection and vesicoureteral reflux(group A), 16 patients revealed only urinary tract infection(group B). Both groups were compared by presence of fever, hematuria, and proteinuria, positivity of CRP, and level of BUN, Cr, GFR by 99mTc-DTPA, urine ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin, 24 hours urine albumin. Results : 1) Among 24 patients who had vesicoureteral reflux, 14 had unilateral VUR, 10 had bilateral VUR, three kidneys with grade I, nine with grade II, eleven with grade III, eleven with grade IV by classification of International Reflux Study Committee. Among them, 14 patients had renal scar, five with type A, five with type B, four with type C, none with type D by Smellie's classification. 2) The mean of GFR, BUN, Cr, 24hrs urine albumin and the presence of hematuria and proteinuria showed no significant difference between group A and group B. The mean of urine ${\beta}_2$ microglobulin in group A and group B were $283.6{\pm}195.8{\mu}g/l$ and $78.7{\pm}48.5{\mu}g/l$ respectively, showing that group A had a higher value than group B (p<0.01). In case of ${\beta}_2$ microglobulin > $120{\mu}g/l$ and CRP(+), the sensitivity was 93.3% and the specificity is 77.8% for detecting of VUR. In case of ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin>$120{\mu}g/l$ and fever(+), the sensitivity was 92.2%, and the specificity was 62.5% for detecting of VUR Conclusions : If the level of urinary ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin is more than 120ug/l in children with urinary tract infection in association with fever(+) or CRP(+), it can predict VUR. So we can use it for early detection of VUR.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.119-127
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• 2015

To date, detection of microbial populations in dairy products has been performed using culture media, which is a time-consuming and laborious method. The recently developed chromogenic media could be more rapid and specific than classical culture media. However, the newly developed molecular-based technology can detect microbial populations with greater rapidity and sensitivity than the classical method involving culture media and chromogenic media. This molecular-based technology could provide various options for monitoring the characterization of different states of bacteria and cells. Thus, it could help upgrade the processing system of the dairy industry so as to maintain the safety and quality of dairy foods. Among the various newly developed molecular-based technologies, flow cytometry can potentially be used for monitoring microbiological populations in the dairy industry if official international standards are available for this purpose. When omics technology would have biomarker identification, it could be regarded as the rapid and sensitive analytical methods. Methods based on PCR, which has become a basic technique in microbiological research, can be developed and validated as alternative methods for quantification of dairy microorganisms. This review discusses methods for monitoring microbiological populations in dairy foods and the limitations of these studies, as well as the need for further research on such methods in the dairy industry.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2011

To find the preliminary environmental conditions for a short-time transport of living olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, the stress response and physiological metabolic activity of the cultured fish to feed deprivation and slow temperature descending ($15.8^{\circ}C{\rightarrow}13.3^{\circ}C$) were monitored for 8 days. The monitored variables were the plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glucose (GLU), total protein (TP), electrolytes ($Na^+$, $K^+$, $Cl^-$) and thyroid hormones ($TT_4$, $TT_3$, $FT_4$ and $FT_3$). In food deprivation experiment for 8 days, we did not find any statistical change of level in AST, ALT and electrolytes ($Na^+$, $K^+$, $Cl^-$), but found a significant decrease in TP and GLU. In thyroid hormones, the levels of four hormones in plasma were all showing a tendency to decrease. Especially, $FT_4$ and $TT_3$ were significantly decreased, indicating a withering of physiologic activity. In the temperature test, although no any significant change in AST, TP and electrolytes ($Na^+$, $K^+$, $Cl^-$), we observed a significant decrease of ALT and GLU following to temperature descending from $15.8^{\circ}C$ to $13.3^{\circ}C$ (P<0.05). In the levels of thyroid hormones, any significant change was not observed for experimental period. We conclude that the stress response and physiological activity of olive flounder were more influenced by feed deprivation than slow temperature descending at a transport of living fish, and plasma GLU appears to be sensitive factor to physiological metabolic activity, indicating that it could be used as a monitering mark or index for a health inspection of the fish.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.456-462
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• 2006

Background: Differential diagnosis is very important in patients with pleural effusions. A few studies on the etiologies of massive pleural effusions have been reported, but these were conducted in different decades and locations. In the present study, the etiologic spectrum of massive pleural effusions in Korea, were evaluated through an investigation at one university hospital. Methods: Retrospective chart reviews were performed in patients having undergone thoracentesis between July 2002 and July 2005. Pleural effusions were deemed to be massive if they occurred in two thirds or more of one hemithorax. The etiologies of massive pleural effusions, pleural fluid findings, serum laboratory findings, and sputum and pleural fluid cytologies were compared. Results: Of 298 pleural effusions cases, 41 (13.8%) had massive pleural effusions. The most frequent causes of massive pleural effusions were malignancy (19; 46.3%) followed by tuberculosis (15; 36.6%), parapneumonic effusion (4; 9.8%) and transudate (3; 7.3%). Compared with massive benign effusions, patients with massive malignant pleural effusions were more likely to have lower adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, a higher amylase level and higher RBC count in their pleural fluids. Also, compared with non-tuberculosis effusions, patients with massive tuberculous pleural effusions were more likely to have lower RBC and neutrophil counts, but a higher lymphocyte count, adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity and protein level. Conclusion: The most common etiologies of massive pleural effusions in Korea are malignancy and tuberculosis. A high ADA content favors a tuberculous condition, while bloody effusions with a relatively lower ADA content. favors malignancy. The proportion of tuberculosis in massive pleural effusions was higher than in previous reports.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.449-457
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• 2010

This study investigated the effects of three kinds of water extract mixtures each with different ratios of A. capillaris, C. sinensis, S. chinensis, and V. coloratum on laying performance, egg quality, blood characteristics, and egg storage stability in laying hens. One hundred and sixty 35-wk-old laying hens (Hy-line brown) were divided into four groups of 10 birds each replicated times four. The treatments involved a basal diet (C, control) or diets containing three kinds of water extract mixtures at 200 ppm (T1, water extract mixture A; T2, water extract mixture B; T3, water extract mixture C). The egg production rate, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved in all treatments compared to those of control (p<0.05). Haugh unit and egg yolk color in all treated groups were significantly improved in comparison with control (p<0.05), but no significant differences were observed for egg shell quality. The content of total cholesterol in blood serum was significantly decreased in all treatments compared to that of control (p<0.05). The blood biochemical parameters of liver and kidney damage were significantly decreased in all treatments compared to those of control (p<0.05). Total antioxidant activity in the blood serum of all treated groups was increased as well. The Haugh unit and malondialdehyde content in the egg yolk during storage were significantly decreased in all treated groups compared to control (p<0.05). Consequently, the dietary supplementation of water extract mixtures of A. capillaris, C. sinensis, S. chinensis, and V. coloratum improved laying performance and egg quality but decreased egg quality deterioration with increased storage. These results suggest that medicinal plant extracts could be used as a feed additive in feed for laying hens.