• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.501-505
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• 2014

In recent years, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been widely used for malaria detection, primarily because of their simple operation, fast results, and straightforward interpretation. The Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag is one of the most commonly used malaria RDTs in several countries, including Korea and India. In this study, we tested the diagnostic performance of this RDT in Uganda to evaluate its usefulness for field diagnosis of malaria in this country. Microscopic and PCR analyses, and the Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag rapid diagnostic test, were performed on blood samples from 185 individuals with suspected malaria in several villages in Uganda. Compared to the microscopic analysis, the sensitivity of the RDT to detect malaria infection was 95.8% and 83.3% for Plasmodium falciparum and non-P. falciparum, respectively. Although the diagnostic sensitivity of the RDT decreased when parasitemia was ${\leq}500\;parasites/{\mu}l$, it showed 96.8% sensitivity (98.4% for P. falciparum and 93.8% for non-P. falciparum) in blood samples with parasitemia ${\geq}100\;parasites/{\mu}l$. The specificity of the RDT was 97.3% for P. falciparum and 97.3% for non-P. falciparum. These results collectively suggest that the accuracy of the Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag makes it an effective point-of-care diagnostic tool for malaria in Uganda.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.413-419
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• 2001

This study was performed to evaluate the renal hemodynamics using color Doppler ultrasonography in dogs with unilateral experimental hydronephrosis treated with transarterial embolization of the renal artery (TAE-RA). Experimental hydronephrosis was induced by ligation of unilateral ureter in 12 dogs. The mean resistive index (RI) value of kidney was significantly increased at 4, 9, 17 days after ligation of ureter. Unilateral hydronephrosis was established in 12 dogs at 17 days after ligation of ureter. Renal artery embolization was performed using selective catheterization in the hydronephrotic kidney of seven dogs and EKG, $SpO_2$body temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate were within normal ranges during procedures. There were no dogs expired after TAE-RA and no side effects associated with regurgitation of iohexol-ethanol solution. In color Doppler ultrasonographic findings, there was no blood flow into the embolized kidneys treated by TAE-RA, however, blood flow signal was found in contralateral normal kidney of dogs treated with TAE-RA compared to that of normal kidney in normal control group. It is concluded that TAE-RA does not affect the hemodynamics of contralateral normal kidney in dogs with experimental hydronephrosis and color Doppler ultrasonography is simple and non-invasive modality for the monitoring of the revascularization of the renal artery after TAE-RA.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.182-192
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• 1985

[here are so many reports that pulsatile blood flow provides physiologic organ perfusions during cardiopulmonary bypass. So, we compared the recent 30 cases undergoing cardiac surgery by Cobe-Stckert pulsatile roller pump with another 30 cases by Polystan nonpulsatile roller pump. Pulsatile flow was applied during aortic-cross clamping period when synchronized to internal EKG simulator, and perfusion mode was changed to continuous nonpulsatile flow after declamping of aorta. Age, sex, weight, and disease entities were comparable and operative techniques were similar between two groups. 1. There were no differences in average ACC time, ECC time, and Operation time. 2. Postoperative artificial respiration time was 6hrs 30mins in nonpulsatile group and 4hrs 48mins in pulsatile group, and detubation time after ventilator weaning was 2hrs 44mins in nonpulsatile group and 1hrs 43mins in pulsatile group. 3. Average pulse pressure was 8mmHg in nonpulsatile group and 55mmHg in pulsatile group, and a mean arterial pressure was 66.0mmHg in nonpulsatile group and 60.7mmHg in pulsatile group. 4. Mean urine-output during ACC;ECC period was 9.717.3;9.913.2ml/kg/hr in nonpulsatile group and 14.215.0;15.817.5 in pulsatile group [p<0, 05], and thereafter progressive decrease of differences in urine output between two groups until POD 2, and lesser amounts of diuretics was needed in pulsatile group during same postoperative period. Serum BUN/Cr level showed no specific difference and urine concentration power was well preserved in both groups. 5. Plasma proteins and other Enzymes showed no differences between two groups, but serum GOT/GPT level was higher in nonpulsatile group till POD 2. 6. Serum Electrolytes showed no differences between two groups. 7. WBC, RBC, Platelet counts, Hgb and Hct were not different and Coagulogram was well preserved in both groups. 8. Plasma free Hgb level was 7.09mg% in pulsatile group compared with 3.48mg% in pulsatile group on POD 1 but was normalized on POD 2. Gross hemoglobinuria after ECC was noted in 6 cases [20%] of pulsatile group and 4 cases [13%] of nonpulsatile group. 9. In both groups, most patients were included in NYHA class III to IV [28 cases;93% in nonpulsatile group, 22 cases;73% in pulsatile group] preoperatively, and well improved to class I to 11[22 cases; 73% in nonpulsatile group, 30 cases; 100% in pulsatile group] postoperatively. There were 7 operative mortalities in nonpulsatile group only, which were 5 cases of TOF with hepatic failure, 1 case of multiple VSDs with low out-put syndrome, and 1 case of mitral valvular heart disease with cardiomyopathy. We concluded that the new, commercially available Cobe-Stckert pulsatile roller pump device was safe, simple, and reliable.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2018

We evaluated the possible clinical application of Non HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride to HDL-cholesterol ratio as a metabolic syndrome predictor for the elderly in Korea. 1,543 elderly persons aged 65 years or older who visited the health examination center of Gyeonggi Regional General Hospital from January 2015 to December 2017 and had a health checkup were enrolled in this study. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed based on the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) standards. Abdominal obesity was assessed by the Asia-Pacific standards presented at the World Health Organization (WHO) West Pacific Region. Non-HDL-cholesterol was calculated as the difference between total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. The metabolic syndrome predictive power was higher for triglyceride to HDL-cholesterol ratio than for Non HDL-cholesterol. After correcting for related factors, triglyceride to HDL-cholesterol ratio was higher in the $4^{th}$ quartile, which had a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome, than in the $1^{st}$ quartile. The optimal cutoff value for the triglyceride to HDL-cholesterol ratio that predicts the onset of metabolic syndrome was 2.8. triglyceride to HDL-cholesterol ratio can be a simple and practical indicator of the risk of metabolic syndrome.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.418-426
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• 2006

In the artificial heart application, productivity and hemodynamic properties of artificial heart valves are crucial in successiful application to long term in vivo trials. This paper is about manufacture and assessment of trileaflet polymer heart valves using vacuum forming process(VFP). The VFP has many advantages such as reduced fabrication time, reproducibility due to relatively easy and simple process for manufacturing. Prior to VFP of trileaflet polymer heart valves, polyurethane(Pellethane 2363 80AE, Dow Chemical) sheet was prepared by extrusion. The sheets were heated and formed to mold shape by vacuum pressure. The vacuum formed trileaflet polymer heart valves fabrication is composed of two step method, first, leaflet forming and second, conduit forming. This two-step forming process made the leaflet-conduit bonding stable with any organic solvents. Hydrodynamic properties and hemocompatibility of the vacuum formed trileaflet polymer heart valves was compared with sorin bicarbon bileaflet heart valve. The percent effective orifice area of vacuum formed trileaflet polymer heart valves was inferior to bileaflet heart valve, but the increase of plasma free hemoglobin level which reflect blood damage was superior in vacuum formed trileaflet polymer heart valves Vacuum formed trileaflet polymer heart valves has high productivity, and superior hemodynamic property than bileaflet heart valves. Low manufacturing cost and blood compatible trileaflet polymer heart valves shows the advantages of vacuum forming process, and these results give feasibility in in vivo animal trials in near future, and the clinical artificial heart development program.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8553-8557
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• 2016

Background: Accurate dose assessment and correct identification of irradiated from non-irradiated people are goals of biological dosimetry in radiation accidents. Objectives: Changes in the FDXR and the RAD51 gene expression (GE) levels were here analyzed in response to total body exposure (TBE) to a 6 MV x-ray beam in rats. We determined the accuracy for absolute quantification of GE to predict the dose at 24 hours. Materials and Methods: For this in vivo experimental study, using simple randomized sampling, peripheral blood samples were collected from a total of 20 Wistar rats at 24 hours following exposure of total body to 6 MV X-ray beam energy with doses (0.2, 0.5, 2 and 4 Gy) for TBE in Linac Varian 2100C/D (Varian, USA) in Golestan Hospital, in Ahvaz, Iran. Also, 9 rats was irradiated with a 6MV X-ray beam at doses of 1, 2, 3 Gy in 6MV energy as a validation group. A sham group was also included. After RNA extraction and DNA synthesis, GE changes were measured by the QRT-PCR technique and an absolute quantification strategy by taqman methodology in peripheral blood from rats. ROC analysis was used to distinguish irradiated from non-irradiated samples (qualitative dose assessment) at a dose of 2 Gy. Results: The best fits for mean of responses were polynomial equations with a R2 of 0.98 and 0.90 (for FDXR and RAD51 dose response curves, respectively). Dose response of the FDXR gene produced a better mean dose estimation of irradiated "validation" samples compared to the RAD51 gene at doses of 1, 2 and 3 Gy. FDXR gene expression separated the irradiated rats from controls with a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 87.5%, 83.5% and 81.3%, respectively, 24 hours after dose of 2 Gy. These values were significantly (p<0.05) higher than the 75%, 75% and 75%, respectively, obtained using gene expression of RAD51 analysis at a dose of 2 Gy. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that absolute quantification by gel purified quantitative RT-PCR can be used to measure the mRNA copies for GE biodosimetry studies at comparable accuracy to similar methods. In the case of TBE with 6MV energy, FDXR gene expression analysis is more precise than that with RAD51 for quantitative and qualitative dose assessment.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.441-444
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• 2009

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with an increased risk of acute rejection, delayed graft function and long-term changes after kidney transplantation. The reperfusion models remain unsolved complications such as vascular obstruction and blood leakage. We developed an alternative model of isolated hemoperfusion in porcine kidneys. In the present study we introduced a newly developed reperfusion method. A connector was used instead of surgical suture for the vascular anastomosis on the inguinal region in which main femoral vessels are parallel and big enough to perfuse the kidney. To assess renal perfusion quality of the modified hemoreperfusion model, we analyzed both hemodynamic values and patterns of I/R injury following a renal reperfusion. Following unilateral nephrectomy, the kidneys were preserved for 0, 24 and 48 hours at $4^{\circ}C$ with histidine-tryptophan ketogluatarate (HTK) solution and reperfused for 3 hours by vascular anastomosis connected to the femoral artery and vein in inguinal region. Histolopathological examinations were assessed on kidney biopsy specimens, taken after each cold storage and reperfusion. No differences of hemodynamic values were observed between aorta and femoral artery. The average warm ischemia time before reperfusion start was $7.0{\pm}1.1$ minutes. There were no complications including vascular obstruction and blood leakage during the reperfusion. I/R injury of the perfused kidneys in this model was dependent upon the cold ischemia time. The results support that the modified perfusion model is simple and appropriate for the study of early renal I/R injury and transplant immunology.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 1997

To develop the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of type D simian retrovirus (SRV) infection, an oligonucleotide primer pair was designed to hybridize to the sequences within env gene of SRV subtype 1 (SRV-1). The 3' proximal env sequences annealing to the primers had been rather conserved among three different subtypes of SRV, SRV-1, SRV-2, and SRV-3 (Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus: MPMV). The PCR using the primer pair targeting an env region successfully detected and amplified all three subtypes of SRV with excellent specificity after single round of reaction. The tests with peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected either with simian immunodeficiency virus or simian T-Iymphotropic virus type 1, major immunosuppressive viral agents together with SRV in simian, verified the specificity of the PCR by excluding any cross reactivity. Semiquantitative titration PCR, amplifying serially diluted plasmid DNA of each subtype, was performed to evaluate sensitivity limits of the reaction. Based on molecular weight of each cloned SRV genome, the PCR should be able to detect one SRV-infected cell per more than $5-7{\times}10^4$ uninfected cells after simple ethidium bromide staining of resulting products. The PCR must be very efficient screening system with its quickness, certainty, and sensitivity for SRV-infected animals used in human AIDS research model. Second round amplification of the reaction products from the first PCR, or Southern hybridization by radiolabeled probes shall render to compete its efficacy to ELISA which has been the most sensitive technique to screen SRV infection but with frequent ambiguity problem.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 1995

To predict preoperatively the safety of permanent occlusion of an internal carotid artery with $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO brain single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) from an objective point of view, Twenty-four patients underwent balloon test occlusion (BTO) of the internal carotid arteries because of neck and skull base tumors. The authors assessed the uptake of both middle cerebral artery territories before and during BTO with $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO brain SPECT using semiquantitative analysis method and compared the results with other factors(neurologic examination, arterial stump pressure and electroenceph-alogram). Nineteen patients had not experienced neurological deteriorating or any problem during BTO. Their comparative uptakes of the middle cerebral artery territories were 95 to 101% of the pre-BTO state. The remaining five patients showed severe neurologic symptoms such as transient hemiplegia and unconsciousness. Their comparative uptake of the middle cerebral artery territories were 77 to 85% of the pre-BTO state, and were well matched with other factors. $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO brain SPECT before and during BTO seems to be a simple and objective method for prediction of permanent neurologic deficits when the comparative uptake of middle cerebral artery territories during BTO is lower than 85% of that before BTO.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.265-274
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• 2005

Diabetic gastroparesis is a disorder in a diabetic of delayed gastric emptying in the absence of mechanical obstruction. It is estimated that about 20%-50% of diabetics suffer from gastroparesis. Clinical Sympoms include early satiety, bloating, nausea, anorexia, vomiting, abdominal pain, and weight loss. Severe gastroparesis might result in recurrent hospitalization, malnutrition, and even death, but, no exact treatment has yet been established. Electrogastrography has been known to be a simple, non-invasive, and effective method in assessing gastric motility and EGG has been used to diagnosis diabetic gastroparesis and to estimate its prognosis. Recently, two cases of diabetic gastroparesis were observed. For this cases, manual acupucture, electroacupucture, lumbar skin warming and herb medicine were applied. After application of these therapies, gastrointestinal symptoms improved and these therapeutic effects were confirmed in EGG. Moreover, blood glucose control improved, so patients were able to discontinue insulin injection and change to p.o.medication. In light of this encouraging application of oriental medicine, this is reported along with investigation of the literature.