• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 1993

Plesiomonas shigelloides distributed in the aquatic systems was isolated and identified in this study and compared with the c1inica] isolates in view of their physiological characteristics, Biochemica] charactristics of the isolates of P. shigelloides one sample taken from Gupo and two samples taken from Mu]gum, were studied. However, none was isolated in Haeundae, Dadaepo, Kangdong and Nakdong estuary. The isolated bacteria had an optimum growth condition in peptone water of $25~35^{\circ}C$, pH 7.5-8.0 and 1% NaCI concentration. The cell grew most properly on the selective enrichment media which were made from adding inositol to peptone water. DNase was s]owly produced and the results were different from those of other studies. The components of the fatty acid were 3% of 3-hydroxy]ated fatty acid containing $C_{12}~C_{18}$. 0-10% cyclopropane ($C_{17:0}$), 25~30% hexadecanoic acid ($C_{16:0}$), 32~43% hexadecenoic acid ($C_{16:1}$), 1~2% octadecanoic acid ($C_{16:0}$), and 9~14% octadecenoic acid ($C_{18:1}$). Bacterio]ogica] characteristics, susceptibility of antibiotics, and the components of fatty acid of the c1inica] isolates were similar to those of the strains isolated from the aquatic systems. The strains isolated from c1inica] sources degraded lactose more fast than those isolated from the aquatic systems. There existed resistant bacteria to chlorampenicol in the strains from patients, but there were no resistant bacteria in the strains from the aquatic systems. The components of fatty acid of the clinical isolates were 0~2% $C_{17:0 cyclo}$ and 2~3% $C_{18:0}$, but those of the strains from the aquatic systems were 2~10% and 1~2%, respectvely, which showed the quantitative difference between both components.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.640-651
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• 1997

This study was performed to examine the distribution patterns, ecological characteristics and celluar fatty acid compositions of marine bacteria in Suyeong Bay. During study periods, total cell count (TC) and viable cell count (VC) were $10^7-10^8/m\ell\;and\;10^4-10^6\;cfu/m\ell$, respectively. The temporal variations of TC showed similar patterns between surface and bottom layer, but the VC at bottom decreased gradually from winter to summer. Among the 303 bacterial strains isolated in the study area, which belong to 10 genus types, Pseudomonas spp., $(32.3\%)$, Acinetobader sup. $(19.1\%)$, Vibrio spp. $(11.2\%)$, Flovobacterium spp. $(10.6\%)$ and Bacillus spp. $(7.9\%)$ were dominant. Thirty-one fatty acids were detected from Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp., which were the most predominated among Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Celluar fatty acid compositions of Bacillus spp. were relatively simple compared to those of Pseudomonas spp.. Relatively high ratio of monounsaturated forms were detected in Pseudomonas spp. while branched types were dominant in those of Bacillus spp.. Hydroxy and cyclopropane fatty acid were detected only in the cellular fatty acid of Pseudomonas spp.. Cellular fatty acid compositions of Pseudomonas spp. revealed relatively high percentage of $C_{16:1},\;C_{17:1},\;C_{18:1}\;and\;C_{16:0}$, While Bacillus spp. predominated $C_{16:0}\;iso\;C_{16:0}\;anteiso,\;C_{17:0}\;anteiso\;and\;C_{16:1}$.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.501-506
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• 2011

Purpose: A high level of air pollutants can increase the number of patients with allergy-related diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR). To analyze the association between air pollution and allergic disease, we investigated 2 areas in Korea: Incheon, an industrial area, and Jeju, a non-industrialized area. Methods: Second grade students at elementary schools (11 schools in Incheon and 45 schools in Jeju) were examined in a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was used and a skin prick test was performed. The levels of $NO_2$, $CO_2$, $O_3$, particulate matter (PM) $PM_{10/2.5}$, formaldehyde, tVOCs, and dust mites in the classrooms and grounds were determined. Results: The levels of outdoor CO, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ were significantly higher in Incheon (P<0.01). The levels of indoor CO, $CO_2$, $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$ were significantly higher in Incheon (P<0.01). The prevalence rates of AR symptoms at any time, AR symptoms during the last 12 months, diagnosis of rhinitis at any time, and AR treatment during the last 12 months were significantly higher in Incheon (P<0.01). The prevalence rate of wheezing or whistling at any time, and wheezing during the last 12 months were significantly higher in Incheon (P<0.01). Conclusion: We found that the children living in Incheon, which was more polluted than Jeju, had a higher rate of AR and asthma symptoms compared to children in Jeju. To determine the effect of air pollution on the development of the AR and asthma, further studies are needed.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.505-512
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• 2012

Many aging male suffer various andropause symptoms including loss of physical and mental activities. This study evaluated the putative alleviative effects of CRS-10 dandelion and rooibos extract complex (CRS-10) on the symptoms of andropause. The survival rate of TM3 Leydig cells (TM3 cells) treated with CRS-10 was measured based on typical physiological stress. After daily intake of CRS-10 for 4 weeks, the level of testosterone, physical activity and both the number and activity of sperm in older rats (18 weeks) were measured. Furthermore, thirty males were surveyed with AMS (Aging Males' Symptoms) questionnaire after intake of 400 mg of CRS-10. Overall, CRS-10 protected TM3 cells from serum restriction and oxidative stress via activation of ERK and Akt pathways. The level of testosterone and activation of spermatogenesis in rats were significantly enhanced. In addition, physical locomotion was markedly improved. Daily intake of 400 mg of CRS-10 improved the quality of life among agingmale respondents, according to a clinical survey using the AMS. The results indicate the potential of CRS-10 as a safe and efficacious natural substance for reducing or alleviating andropause symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.142-152
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• 1981

One hundred and thirteen healed pulmonary tuberculosis patients and 11 patients with other underlying diseases were studied for evidence of pulmonary fungal infection because of persisting hemoptysis or chronic cough. Rediological, mycological and serological investigations revealed that 54 out of 124 patients were evidently infected with one or more species of fungi. A. fumigatus was isolated from 4 out of 70 patients whose sera did not react with antigens from this fungus, while it was isolated from 43 out of 47 serological reactors to this fungus. Chest radiography showed a distinct fungus ball in a cyst of one patient and in a preformed cavity in the lung of 17 healed tuberculosis patients and two other patients. The latter two patients were infected with A.flavus. Two patients, who were under the long period of immunosuppressive therapy, apparently succumbed to invasive aspergillosia due to A.fumigatus. A single or dual infection with A. flavus, A. nidulans, A.nidulans var. latus, C. albicans, and P. boydii were noticed in some patients without mycetomal shadow on chest radiographs. Young mycelial extract (ME) of A.fumigatus detected antibody in 95.8 percent of the sera from patients infected with this fungus, while it was isolated from 43 out of 47 serological reactors to this fungus. Chest radiography showed a distinct fungus ball in a cyst of one patient and in a performed cavity in the lung of 17 healed tuberculosis patients and two other patients. The latter two patients were infected with A. flavus. Two patients, who were under the long period of immunosuppressive therapy, apparently succumbed to invasive aspergillosis due to A.fumigatus. A single or dual infection with A. flavus, A. nidulans, A. niduans var. latus, C. albicans, and P. boydii were noticed in some patients without mycetomal shadow on chest radiographs. Young mycelial extract (ME) of A.fumigatus detected antibody in 95.8 percent of the sera from patients infected with this fungus, while the commercial culture filtrate antigen (GL) yielded 78.7 per cent positive result. Culture filtrate antigen, however, was comparable with ME. There was no single antigen with which all the serum specimens reacted. Fractionation of ME resulted in a loss of some activity although it excluded substances that reacted with C-reactive protein in a loss of some activity although it excluded substances that reacted with C-reactive protein. Most reactive and specific precipitinogens distributed in the fraction (FB) which was precipitable at 75 percent saturation with ammonium sulfate and eluted in a second peak in order from gel-filtration and which contained mostly proteinic components. Glycoproteins or polysaccharides rich fractions (FA and ASI) were relatively less effective in detecting antibody. Demonstration of antibody in the serum from patients using a battery of fungal antigens and of etiologically related fungi from clinical specimens are very useful laboratory procedures for the diagnosis of pulmonary fungal infection which is a common complication of tuberculosis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.116-124
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• 2012

Identification was performed in March 2008 for the 76 Enterococcus strains isolated from the Han-river, which is used as water supply for Seoul citizens. The antibiotic susceptibility, antibiotic resistant structural analysis, trans-conjugation, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were also carried out for the isolated strains. Among the isolated strains, 25 strains were E. casseliflavus, 4 strains were E. faecalis and 1 strain was E. hirae. Investigation of antibiotic susceptibility indicated that 15 strains demonstrated tolerance against vancomycin, and that 11 strains of E. faecium and 4 strains of E. casseliflavus were VRE. The vanA gene detection of the VRE strains revealed that 6 E. faecium strains were vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) possessing vanA. Analyses of transposon Tn1546 structure containing vanA demonstrated that Km36 and Km37 belonged to Tn1 type, Km20 and Km38 was Tn2 type, and Km39 and Km40 was Tn3 type. PFGE disclosed that among the 6 VREF strains, Km36 and Km37 exhibited equivalent subtype, while the rest 4 strains showed subtypes different to each other. MLST for the 6 VREF strains disclosed that 3 strains were ST78, while the rest 3 strains were ST18, ST192 and ST230, respectively. All these clonal complexes were derived from CC17 which has been isolated from clinical sources. 4 strains belonged to CC78, while the rest 2 strains were CC18 and CC192, respectively.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.53-59
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• 2009

Infection control is now recognized as an important quality indicator in dental health service setting. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate Dental Hygienist's Infection Control Practice Scale for quality management of dental health service in Korea. The data of 254 dental hygienists was subjected to exploratory factor analysis using SPSS 16.0 and confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 16.0. The total items of preliminary scale were 21 items and 5 subscale. Principal component analysis was completed with Varimax rotation. The results show a change in factor structure from 5 factor solution to 4 factor solution. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four subscales(Immunization and periodic tests, Clinical procedure, Handwashing, Personal protection) which have a total of 12 items. After the item deleted because factor loading was low, measured model was tested. The results of the measurement model indicated fit indices: $x^2$= 79.593(df = 38, 0 = 0.000), RMR = 0.045, GFI = 0.940, CFI = 0.904, AGFI = 0.896, NFI = 0.837, TLI = 0.861, RMSEA = 0.67. The squared correlation between four constructs were less than the average variance extracted(AVE) of four constructs. Multiple regression analysis was completed. Dependent variable was the perceived infection control practice by dental hygienist. Independent variables were four summated subscales(R = 0.552, $R^2$= 0.304, Adjusted $R^2$= 0.431, F = 25.813, p = 0.000). Unstandardized coefficients of three independent variables were statistically significant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1815-1819
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• 2009

Based on the soft and rigid extents, tissues are mainly divided into two groups in mammals, soft tissues including heart, lung, kidney and brain, and hard tissues including tendon, cartilage, teeth and bone. Among various tissues, bone, a dynamic rigid organ, is continuously remodeled by the opposing functional activity between bone formation by osteoblasts and bone destruction by osteoclasts. Bone protects the soft tissues and provides mineral reservoirs, which can supply the mineral needs of other soft tissues to normally maintain cellular function. While calcification in bone is an important action to fundamentally support the body and protect the soft tissues, calcification in soft tissues, including the heart, aorta, kidney, lung and spleen, results in severe organ damages, eventually causing sudden death. A growing body of evidence indicates that the osteoporotic patient who are aging, post-menopausal, diabetes and chronic kidney disease simultaneously represent a high clinical incidence of soft tissue calcification, illustrating a link between soft tissue calcification and bone decalcification (osteoporosis). This study will review what is currently known about the connection between bone decalcification and soft tissue calcification.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.385-391
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• 2016

The discovery and understanding of antigenic proteins are essential for development of a vaccine against malaria. In Plasmodium falciparum, Pf92 have been characterized as a merozoite surface protein, and this protein is expressed at the late schizont stage, but no study of Pv92, the orthologue of Pf92 in P. vivax, has been reported. Thus, the protein structure of Pv92 was analyzed, and the gene sequence was aligned with that of other Plasmodium spp. using bioinformatics tools. The recombinant Pv92 protein was expressed and purified using bacterial expression system and used for immunization of mice to gain the polyclonal antibody and for evaluation of antigenicity by protein array. Also, the antibody against Pv92 was used for subcellular analysis by immunofluorescence assay. The Pv92 protein has a signal peptide and a sexual stage s48/45 domain, and the cysteine residues at the N-terminal of Pv92 were completely conserved. The N-terminal of Pv92 was successfully expressed as soluble form using a bacterial expression system. The antibody raised against Pv92 recognized the parasites and completely merged with PvMSP1-19, indicating that Pv92 was localized on the merozoite surface. Evaluation of the human humoral immune response to Pv92 indicated moderate antigenicity, with 65% sensitivity and 95% specificity by protein array. Taken together, the merozoite surface localization and antigenicity of Pv92 implicate that it might be involved in attachment and invasion of a merozoite to a new host cell or immune evasion during invasion process.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4353-4358
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• 2013

Introduction: Breast cancer aggressiveness can be correlated with proliferation status of tumor cells, which can be ascertained with tumor grade and Ki67 indexing. However due to lack of reproducibility, the ASCO do not recommend routine use of Ki67 in determining prognosis in newly diagnosed breast cancers. We therefore aimed to determine associations of the Ki67 index with other prognostic markers like tumor size, grade, lymph node metastasis, ER, PR and HER2neu status. Methods: A total of 194 cases of newly diagnosed breast cancer were included in the study. Immunohistochemical staining for ER, PR, HER2neu and Ki67 was performed by the DAKO envision method. Associations of the Ki67 index with other prognostic factors were evaluated both as continuous and categorical variables. Results: Mean age of the patients was 51.7 years (24-90). Mean Ki67 index was 26.9% (1-90). ER, PR, HER2neu positivity was noted in 90/194 cases (46.4%), 74/194 cases (38.1%) and 110/194 cases (56.70%) respectively. Significant association was found between Ki67 and tumor grade, PR, HER2neu positivity and lymph node status, but no link was apparent with ER positivity and tumor size. There wasan inverse relation between Ki67 index and PR positivity, whereas a direct correlation was seen with HER2neu positivity. However, high Ki67 (>30%) was associated with decreased HER2neu positivity as compared to intermediate Ki67 (16-30%). The same trend was established with lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Our study indicates that with high grade tumors, clinical utility of ki67 is greater in combination with other prognostic markers because we found that tumors with Ki67 higher than 30% have better prognostic profile compared to tumors with intermediate Ki67 level, as reflected by slightly lower frequency of lymph node metastasis and HER2neu expression. Therefore we suggest that Ki67 index should be categorized into high, intermediate and low groups when considering adjuvant chemotherapy and prognostic stratification.