• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.339-347
• /
• 2019

Saururus chinensis (SC) belongs to the dicotyledonous plants, and its roots, leaves and flowers are white, so it is named three hundred and seconds. It is mainly distributed in Korea, China and Japan. In Korea, it is a native plant distributed in Jejudo and Jirisan areas. It has been known to improve blood circulation, anticarcinogenic effects and purge. However, studies of the efficacy on digestive system is few. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of oral administered-SC extract in loperimide-induced constipation rats. The amount, weight and water content of the stools were measured. The number and type of stools in the large intestines were measured, and the amount of intestinal mucus was analyzed by serological analysis and histologic special staining. The severity of constipation in SC groups was significantly less than that in control group (non-SC rats). Digital Image processing also showed weaker inflammation on the large intestines of SC groups than that of control group (non-SC group). Especially, with increased dose dependent manner of SC extract, the amount and integrity of intestinal mucus increased. These results suggest that SC extract may prevent the symptoms of constipation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.525-534
• /
• 2018

This study evaluated the various qualifications that can be linked to employment similar to the medical laboratory technology major. The qualifications for employment outside the medical laboratory technology major are industrial health instructor, doping control officer, audiologist, sign language interpreter, health education specialist, claim adjuster, Korea life underwriter, administrative manager, hospital administrator, insurance review manager, and hospital coordinator. The qualifications for employment similar to the medical laboratory technology major include the clinical research coordinator, clinical research associate, anatomist, analytical chemistry analysts, hazardous materials industry engineers, biotechnologist, biosafety managers, biotechnology technicians, medical device quality officers, animal care nurse, industrial engineer hazardous material, bioprocess engineer, biosafety officer, certified technology consultant, director of medical device quality control, laboratory animal technician, animal nursing technician, and cruise medical manager. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a social analysis survey of the various qualifications currently held by medical technologists. In addition, it will be necessary to investigate the current status of medical technologists working in other fields. In the future, medical technologists should expand the scope of their work through efforts to strengthen their individual work capacity, share cases, and strengthen their expertise.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.380-387
• /
• 2017

Berchemia berchemiaefolia (BB) are climbing plants or small to medium-sized trees that live in Africa, Asia and America. We performed the present study to investigate whether oral administration of Berchemia berchemiaefolia extract (BBE) protects SD rats from pain. The SD rat experimental groups were divided into four groups. Two of the animal model groups were fed on BBE (200 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg). We performed oral acute toxicity test to determine the optimal oral dose of BBE. To explore if BBE alleviated pain in the SD rat, we undertook the tail flick latency test and formalin test. Additionally, we conducted the anti-oxidative test. The findings of the present study suggest that Berchemia berchemiaefolia extract exhibits strong antioxidant and analgesic activities.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.54-59
• /
• 2019

Hepatitis refers to inflammation of hepatocytes and liver tissue, and is mainly caused by viruses, alcohol, and drugs. Forsythiae Fructus has traditionally been used as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic. Research on rengyolone, a bioactive substance extracted from Forsythiae Fructus, is rarely found in Korea and abroad. First, an acute animal toxicity test for rengyolone was conducted for the animal experiment. 4 week-old SD rats were injected intraperitoneally with acetaminophen for 2 weeks to induce chronic liver inflammation. Rengyolone was orally administered into two groups during 4 weeks: pre-inflammatory group and post-inflammatory group. Oral doses were also divided into 1 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg. Liver function tests (ALT, AST, ALP), western blot analysis of liver tissue, and level of inflammatory cytokine were performed to evaluate the improvement of hepatitis. Experimental results showed that rengyolone inhibited the development of acute inflammation and thus could reduce hepatitis symptoms.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.278-285
• /
• 2016

The discovery of various activities of natural plants has increased interest in halophytes. Suaeda australis and S. maritime are perennial halophytes that belong to the Chenopodiaceae family. Extracts of S. australis and S. maritime plants were investigated for concentration and time-dependent antibacterial and antioxidant activities using bacterial species and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, respectively, as well as total phenolic content. The S. australis extract ($500{\mu}g/mL$) showed activity against all the bacterial species including P. aeruginosa, P. mirabilis, A. baumannii, and VRE with 61.1, 42.3, 44.49, and 40.38%, respectively, inhibition and suppressed of these four species for 12 h. Overall, the S. australis extract showed marked antibacterial activities while, in contrast, the S. maritime extract had excellent antioxidant effects. However, the effects of the two extracts were much lower than that of quercetin. The present study identified antibacterial activities of S. australis, and it would be necessary to perform further phytochemical studies of S. australis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.52-64
• /
• 2023

This study aimed to examine the types and characteristics of otorhinolaryngology examinations performed by clinical laboratory technologists and to investigate the working environment and scope of work of otorhinolaryngology laboratory personnel using online questionnaires. Based on the research results, constructive policy measures for the University-Association-Society were also presented. Most of the survey respondents were in their 40s (34.1%). Females accounted for 80.2% of respondents and 30.8% of them had a career spanning 15 years or more. We found that laboratory personnel had a wide scope of work, high work stress and frequently suffered occupational diseases. We observed that, to reduce stress and increase satisfaction, an expansion of the workforce was necessary. Compared to other occupations, 72% of clinical laboratory technologists occupied more senior positions, occupational distribution depended on senior positions (P<0.001). Clinical laboratory technologists performed about 26 types of otorhinolaryngology examinations. The most frequent test performed daily was pure tone audiometry, and polysomnography took the longest test time, with an average of 8 hours. In conclusion, clinical laboratory technologists were in charge of various specialized otorhinolaryngology examinations. Considering the importance of clinical laboratory technologists in otorhinolaryngology, the University-Association-Society should put in additional effort into nurturing otorhinolaryngology examination experts.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.153-157
• /
• 2009

The production of extended-spectrum ${\beta}$-lactamases ($ESBL_S$) of the TEM or SHV type by bacterial pathogens is a major threat to the use of the clinically important expanded-spectrum cephalosporins. The characterization of the SHV ESBLs producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains present in clinical isolates is time-consuming processes. We describe here in the development of a novel system, which consists of a real time PCR. We found 11 K. pneumoniae strains to be presumptive strains ESBLs producers by clinical and laboratory standards institute (CLSI) guidelines. The double disk synergy test showed 8 ESBL positive and conventional PCR showed 10 SHV ESBL positive, which were K. pneumoniae strains isolates. By real time PCR analysis, SHV gene in 11 of 11 strains were identified. When sequencing analysis was compared with real time PCR, both analysis were presented 99% similarity. In this study, we used a rapid, sensitive, and specific real-time PCR (RT-PCR) method for detection of the assay SHV ESBL producing K. pneumoniae strains in clinical isolates.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.293-297
• /
• 2022

In 2022, Korea reported a total of 224 perfusionists, employing nurses or clinical laboratory technologists (also known as medical technologists) to provide hospital self-education or reliable education. In 2021, the total number of perfusionists in Japan was 2,100, mainly supported by clinical engineering technologists. During the same period, the number of perfusionists reported in the United States was 4,212, who had received training in the master's program, post-bachelor certificate program, and bachelor's program. Most personnel in the USA were graduates of healthcare sciences or life sciences. Perfusionists must be knowledgeable in heart anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, hemodynamics, laboratory analysis, and quality assurance, as well as techniques to operate the cardiopulmonary bypass machine (heart-lung bypass machine). These are jobs similarly handled by clinical laboratory technologists. The importance of perfusionists became more prominent during two major crises: the MERS-CoV and COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, perfusionists play a significant role in the rapidly expanding field of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and extracorporeal circulation during cardiac surgery. Results of the current study indicate that hospitals offering cardiac surgery and infectious disease hospitalization need to be institutionalized to secure a certain number of qualified perfusionists. In the future, we look forward to establishing a perfusion technology association under the Korean Society for Clinical Laboratory Physiology to provide academic exchanges.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.221-229
• /
• 2018

Trichophyton rubrum is one of the well-known pathogenic fungi and causes dermatophytosis and cutaneous mycosis in human world widely. However, there are not an available sequence type (ST) classification methods and previous studies for T. rubrum until now. Therefore, currently, molecular biological tools using their DNA sequences are used for genotype identification and classification. In the present study, in order to characterize the genetic diversity and the phylogenetic relation of T. rubrum clinical isolates, five different housekeeping genes, such as actin (ACT), calmodulin (CAL), RNA polymerase II (RPB2), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), and ${\beta}$-tubulin (BT2) were analyzed using by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Also, DNA sequence analysis was performed to examine the differences between the sequences of Trichophyton strains and the identified genetic variations sequence. As a result, most of the sequences were shown to have highly matched rates in their housekeeping genes. However, genetic variations were found on three different positions of ${\beta}$-tubulin gene and were shown to have changed from $C{\rightarrow}G$ (1766), $G{\rightarrow}T$ (1876), and $C{\rightarrow}A$ (1886). To confirm the association with T. rubrum inheritance, a phylogenetic tree analysis was performed. It was classified as four clusters, but there was little significant correlation. Even so, MLST analysis is believed to be helpful for determining the genetic variations of T. rubrum in cases where there is more large-scale data accumulation. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the first MLST analysis of T. rubrum in Korea and explored the possibility that MLST could be a useful tool for studying the epidemiology and evolution of T. rubrum through further studies.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.105-121
• /
• 2021

To investigate and accommodate opinions on the revision of the official occupational title of the medical technologist, the Korean Association of Medical Technologists (KAMT) requested 22,638 people registered as its regular members to participate in an online survey and select their two preferred options from the alternative job titles presented. Survey responses were collected from 3,999 people (17.66%). To examine job title preferences among the KAMT members, each respondent was asked to choose two terms from the choice set. As a result, 6,958 responses were obtained, and out of the total responses, 5,555 (79.83%) indicated a choice for a job title that included the word 'analyst' as the preferred alternative. The survey results showed that "Diagnostic Laboratory Analyst" was the most preferred alternative selected by the largest proportion of respondents (2,417 responses, 34.73%), followed by "Clinical Laboratory Analyst" (1,710 responses, 24.57%), "Biomedical Pathology Technologist" (758 responses, 10.89%), "Biomedical Analyst" (730 responses, 10.49%), "Biomedical Laboratory Analyst" (730 responses, 10.03%), and "Clinical Laboratory Scientist" (646 responses, 9.26%). Therefore, based on the responses of the surveyed members, results of consultation and literature review, the Standard Classification of Occupations (SCO), and the current status of the job titles used in major countries, it is suggested that the occupational title of medical technologists should be changed by adopting "Diagnostic Laboratory Analyst", "Biomedical Laboratory Analyst", or "Biomedical Analyst" as their new official job title.