• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.510-516
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• 2019

This study examined the effects of fetal bovine serum (FBS), goat blood serum (gBS), and poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) on the in vitro development and embryo quality of goats for an improvement of embryo production. For the experiment, an in vitro fertilized embryo culture medium was supplemented with 10% FBS, 10% gBS, and 10% PVA to determine their effects on the embryo development efficiency and blastocyst quality. The results showed that the non-serum supplementation group showed significantly lower cleavage rate and blastocyst formation. On the other hand, the gBS and PVA supplementation groups showed a significant increase in the cleavage rate and better blastocyst formation than the control and FBS supplementation group. Furthermore, a TUNEL assay performed to confirm the blastocyst quality showed the same pattern as the embryo development experiment. These results showed that the supplemented gBS or PVA was more efficient in enhancing the in vitro development efficiency of goats than the supplementation of FBS or non-serum. On the other hand, considering the risk of an unidentified factor in gBS, PVA appears to be safer and more efficient in the in vitro development of goat embryos.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.260-264
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• 2019

An 84-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of pressure sores of the anus. She had a urine catheter when she showed pyuria three times but had no fever. A microscopic examination revealed many grapevine-like Gram positive strains and neutrophils. After 24 hours of urine culture on blood agar, non-hemolytic mucous colonies were found and further enlarged after 48 hours of culture. The capsules were identified after India ink stain. The catalase was positive, but the tube coagulase and latex coagulase were both negative. The S. aureus was identified by Vitek-2 and mass spectrometer Vitek MS V-3 IVD. The strain was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The phenotypically atypical MRSA found in the tube coagulase and latex coagulase were both negative. MRSA often show no beta hemolysis as in this case but are rarely latex coagulase-negative. We report a woman whose urine culture showed non-hemolytic, tube coagulase-negative, and latex coagulase-negative MRSA.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.211-216
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• 2021

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of disinfection using environmental disinfectant after having assessed the extent of contamination through microbial culture testing and the Adenosine Triphosphate Bioluminescence method among the environmental management evaluation methods used for the environment in the hospital ward of patients infected by multidrug-resistant organisms. This study was conducted with the patient wards isolated due to multidrug-resistant organisms as the environmental surface. Specimens were collected from five locations including infusion pumps, IV poles, bedside cabinets, bed railings, keyboards, and blood pressure measurement cuffs. ATP and microbial culture testing were executed prior to, immediately after, and five minutes post-disinfection. According to the result contamination of the infusion pumps was statistically significantly reduced after disinfection. In addition, the bacteria before and after disinfection reduced in IV pole, bed railing, and keyboard. That is, regular environmental surface disinfection can provide safer environments to patients against infection. Therefore, it is necessary to establish guidelines including disinfection methods and intervals for environmental surfaces by evaluating the persistence of disinfectants at various institutions in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.29
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• pp.179-202
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• 2010

In addition to the emphasis on filial piety ethics in everyday life, filial piety obtained a further significance in Confucianism which had the strong sense of ancestor worship. This paper focuses on filial piety as a mechanism of continuity within Confucianism and points out that it owed its development to its connection to agricultural culture. The sedentary life with less mobility forged a relative intimacy among people and filial piety was the actual expression of that kind of intimate affection. Yet, filial piety in Confucianism created a unique culture in terms that it not only stipulated material and emotional support for parents but also expected one's piety to the further ancestors through a memorial service and made its connection to the infinite posterity through sons. From the perspective of Confucianism that established filial piety at the turning point from life to death, the self existing in present was not an isolated self anymore. Yet, one can see another characteristic of Confucianism from that filial piety, based on blood bonds, could move beyond paternalism to broaden itself. It could be expanded to the care for strangers. The aged experience and wisdom through agricultural life begot the insight that the nature made its infinite connections with everything through circulation. As a stone thrown in a pond would enlarge its boundary by drawing larger and larger concentric circles, this thought enabled people to enlarge their affection to their parents to universal humanity. In this enlarged network, though it was natural to make distinctions between the closer and the farther, Confucianism sought to overcome it by establishing oneself upright. Confucianism emphasized the moral cultivation with its filial piety concept that contained the diachronic thought penetrating life and death and the broadened perspective relating everything around. In Confucianism, filial piety provided an important medium in forming a moral subject that penetrated life and death and related self and others. Inherent in it is the Confucius thought of continuity that searched for a paragon of a moral human being regardless of time and space.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2023

Background: Kombucha, known domestically as black tea mushroom, is a traditional fermented beverage from Northeast Asia made by fermenting a mixture of black tea extract and fungus. It is known for its high detoxifying, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities, as well as its effects on relieving arthritis pain, reducing blood pressure, and addressing gastrointestinal or metabolic diseases. Purpose: This study aims to identify the main microbial system of Kombucha fermentation. Methods: The 16sRNA sequencing method was applied to analyze the microbial composition of Kombucha fermentation. Results: Bacterial, yeast, and fungi groups were identified. Through the identification of commercial Kombucha strains, it was confirmed that the bacteria in the Kombucha fermentation liquid and the pellicle were predominantly microbes from the Gluconacetobacter and Gluconobactor, which are involved in the fermentation of Kombucha. Among the yeasts, Sacchromycetes class, Starmerella bacillaris were identified with the highest expression rate. It was confirmed that the main microbial system fermenting Kombucha is SCOBY(Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), and that different strains are prominently expressed compared to the foreign Kombucha, which is mainly composed of Acetobacter acetic bacteria and Zygosaccharomyces yeast commonly. Conclusions: This study highlights the complexity and diversity of the microbial ecosystem in Kombucha fermentation, and comparative analysis with commercial strains reveals the potential for diversification of SCOBY to improve the functional properties of Kombucha. Future studies will investigate microbial interactions within the SCOBY and their impact on the health-promoting properties of Kombucha.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.331-336
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• 2007

Background: Although pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a respiratory disease, the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DNA or Mtb itself has been reported in the peripheral blood (PB) of several patients with pulmonary TB. Additionally, it was recently announced that active pulmonary TB patients donated PB, and that this blood was then transfused to other individuals in Korea. Methods: Sixty-nine patients with bacteriologically-confirmed pulmonary TB (35), non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease (6), and other lung diseases (28) were enrolled in this study, which was conducted to determine if Mtb DNA could be detected in the PB by PCR. In addition, 10 pulmonary TB patients with high-burden bacilli were also enrolled in this study for the culture of Mtb in PB. Results: PCR detected the presence of Mtb in 22.8% (8/35) of the pulmonary TB patients, in 16.7% (1/6) of the patients with NTM lung disease, and in none of the patients with other diseases (0%). In addition, no Mtb was cultured from the PB of the 10 pulmonary TB patients. Conclusion: Although Mtb DNA was detected in the PB of some patients with pulmonary TB, viable Mtb was not isolated from the PB of those patients, which indicates that patients that viable Mth may not be transmitted via trasfusion of blood of pulmonary TB patients.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2001

Background: Cytokine-mediated ex vivo expansion has been proposed as a means of increasing the number of cord blood (CB) hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation. As well as stem cell number, stromal cells are necessary for functional maturation of hematopoiesis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the development of stromal cells during ex vivo expansion of CB $CD34^+$ cells. Methods : $CD34^+$ cells were purified from CB by magnetic bead selection. The levels of of interleukin-3, interleukin-$1{\beta}$, interleukin-6, granulocyte macrophagecolony stimulating factor and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ were measured in culture supernatants on 0, 1, 2, and 3 weeks, using ELISA techniques. CB $CD34^+$ cells were expanded in Iscoves modified Dulbeccos medium in the presence of several cytokines. The expression of E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, von Willebrand factor, vimentin, and CD14 in newly developed stromal cells was examined by immunocytochemical method. Relevant extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and proper cytokines were also assayed for the most suitable condition for expansion of stromal cells. Results: Several cytokines were found to have been produced by CB $CD34^+$ cells as well as bone marrow-derived $CD34^+$ cells. During ex vivo expansion of CB $CD34^+$ cells, stromal cells appeared in the culture by day 4 and expanded over the following 7-10 days before being confluent by day 2 1. These cells expressed surface markers characteristic of cells of endothelial lineage. Furthermore, these stroaml cells also expanded effectively when treated with thrombopoietin+flt-3 ligand+stem cell factor+leukemia inhibitory factor or 0.1% poly-L-lysine-coated wells. Conclusion: Stromal cells were developed during ex vivo expansion of CB $CD34^+$ cells and that this development could be enhanced further by treating the stromal cells with cytokines or ECM.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2003

Background: The megakaryopoiesis and platelet production is regulated by several hematopoietc factors such as thrombopoietin (TPO), interleukin-11 (IL-11) and interleukin- 3 (IL-3). IL-11 is a potent stimulator of megakaryopoiesis in vivo, and acts primarily as a megakaryocyte maturation factor in vitro and it can act synergistically with IL-3 and TPO. We performed this study to investigate the effects of recombinant human IL-11 (rhIL-11) with other hematopoietic factors on megakaryocyte colony formation in vitro. Methods: CD34+ cells were separated from umbilical cord blood and megakaryocyte colonies using MegaCult Assay Kit were cultured with rhIL-11, recombinant human IL-3 (rhIL-3), and recombinant human TPO (rhTPO) for 7 and 14 days. The number and percentage of CD34+ and CD41a+ cells were determined by flowcytometry. Results: The number of CD41a+ cells were $0.54{\pm}0.05{\times}10^4$ (rhIL-11 100 ng/ml), $5.32{\pm}0.23{\times}10^4$ (rhIL-3 100 ng/ml), and $8.76{\pm}0.15{\times}10^4$ (rhTPO 50 ng/ml) of total expanded cells during the culture of the purified CD34+ cells in liquid phase for 7 days. The number of CD41a+ cells were increased to $7.47{\pm}0.69{\times}10^4$ (rhIL-3+ rhIL-11), $11.92{\pm}0.19{\times}10^4$ (rhTPO+rhIL-11) of total expanded cells, respectively, during the culture of the purified CD34+ cells in liquid phase for 7 days in the presence of rhIL-11 (100 ng/ml). When the purified CD34+ cells were cultured in semisolid mediaincluding various concentration of rhIL-11, the megakaryocyte colonies were not formed. When the purified CD34+ cells were cultured with rhIL-11 and rhTPO or with rhIL-11 and rhIL-3, the number of megakaryocyte colonies were increased compared with rhTPO or rhIL-3 alone. Conclusion: These results indicate that IL-11 exerts a potent proliferative activity to colony forming unit-megakaryocyte from human umbilical cord blood, and it acts with other hematopoietic factors synergistically.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.601-610
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• 1997

Background : Monocytes/macrophages play a central role in determining the host response during Gram-negative infection through secretion of a variety of mediators after stimulation of LPS. Even though cytokine production has been shown to play an important role in host defense during sepsis, cytokine release may also lead to tissue injury. Thus, regulation of macrophage response to LPS is critical for host survival during Gram-negative sepsis. In animals exposed to nonlethal doses of endotoxin, a characteristic hyporesponsiveness to subsequent administration of endotoxin has been observed. This phenomenon was known as 'LPS tolerance'. However, little information is available regarding the underlying mechanism of LPS tolerance. Method : Peripheral blood monocyte(PBMC) was isolated from peripheral blood of normal volunteers by adhesion purification method. To evaluate the conditions to obtain LPS tolerance, preculture was carried out with LPS at 10ng/ml for 24 hours. For stimulation, culture plates were washed two times and were stimulated with LPS at $1{\mu}g/ml$ for 4, 6 and 26 hours. To assess the underlying mechanisms of LPS tolerance, autologous serum, PMA, anti-CD14 Ab, Indomethacin or $PGF_2$ were added to preculture solution respectively. Cytokine concentrations in culture supernatants were measured using ELISA for TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-8 and mRNA of TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-8 were determined by Northern blot analysis. Results : The exposure of PBMC to low dose of LPS suppressed the cytokine production and mRNA expression of TNF-$\alpha$, but not IL-8. Anti-CD14 Ab partially recovered production of TNF-$\alpha$ which was suppressed by preculture with low dose LPS. The preculture with PMA induces LPS tolerance, as preculture with low dose LPS. Conclusion : LPS tolerance to TNF-$\alpha$ is regulated pretranslationally and is influenced by protein kinase C pathway and CD14.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-75
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate the eliminatory effect of health drink containing Hovenia dulcis Thunb extract on ethanol-induced hangover in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing $200{\pm}10\;g$ were given health drink (10 mL/kg) or other company product(10 mL/kg) 30 min before or after 40% ethanol (5 g/kg body weight) ingestion. To study the effect of health drink on blood ethanol concentration, blood was taken from caudal artery at 1, 3, 5 hr and the animal were sacrificed 24 hr after ethanol ingestion. From 1 to 5 hr, health drink pre- or postdosing significantly decreased the ethanol levels in the blood. The acetaldehyde concentration showed decrement in health drink group and other company product group. The activities of ethanol, alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase measured at postdosing, were also not altered by the administration of health drink. Alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities showed unaltered resulted in all experimental groups compared with the normal group. These results suggest that oral intake of health drink containing Hovenia dulcis Thunb is effective on elimination of ethanol-induced hangover.