• 한국환경과학회지
• /
• 제23권12호
• /
• pp.2015-2028
• /
• 2014

We analyzed with HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis photosynthetic pigments and environmental factors, microscopic observations of the phytoplankton and zooplankton in the seawater every month from February 2009 to November 2010 in Haengam Bay. The level of dissolved inorganic nutrients was the highest between July and September, when freshwater influx was at its peak, whereas chlorophyll a levels were the highest in April and August. Also, phytoplankton pigment concentration increased when dissolved inorganic nutrients are carried into nearshore waters by rainfall runoff. Based on identification of phytoplankton and photosynthetic pigments results, diatoms were mainly dominant while dinoflagellate populations increased at July and August 2009, May 2010. The zooplankton communities are dominated in terms of Noctiluca scintillans. The contribution of Noctiluca scintillans in 2010 accounts for approximately 77.3% of the total zooplankton. Distribution patterns over time of zooplankton in the seasonal distribution of phytoplankton showed a different pattern.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권1호
• /
• pp.181-184
• /
• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in Kerala, South India, with the incidence increasing in the past two decades, also in young women. However, there are limited data regarding the burden of disease, its epidemiology and histopathological characteristics in the state. Materials and Methods: This desciptive study covered 303 breast cancers evaluated during the period of December 2011 to August 2013 in the Department of Pathology, Government Medical College, Kottayam.The patients were also interviewed regarding selected risk factors. Results: The majority of the cases were 41-60 years of age with a mean at presentation of 53 years. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the most common subtype, followed by pure mucinous carcinoma and then lobular carcinoma. Of the cases, 6.6% were nullipara and 52.8% had fewer than or equal to 2 children. Median age at first child birth was 23 years (national value-19.8 years). A significant proportion (15%) had family history of breast cancer. Some 13.5%(41 cases) comprised the young breast cancer group (${\leq}40$years) with a mean age at first child birth in them was 27.4 years, 5 being nullipara and 6 having a positive family history. Conclusions: Breast cancer awareness, better availability of screening techniques and identification and targeting high risk groups all help to tackle the increasing load of breast carcinoma. A good proportion of cases comprised the young breast cancer group (under 40). Younger women should thus also be educated about breast carcinoma-risk factors, symptoms and diagnostic techniques to help in early detection and effective approach esto treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권7호
• /
• pp.3295-3300
• /
• 2016

Background: Different types of cancer exhibit abnormalities in cell cycle regulators. The murine double minute-2(MDM2) cell cycle regulator is a proto-oncogene that negatively regulates the P53 tumour suppressor gene. Surface epithelial tumours constitute approximately two thirds of ovarian neoplasms. Each histologic type can be classified as benign, borderline and malignant. This study aimed to examine immunohistochemical expression of the MDM2 protein in ovarian serous and mucinous epithelial tumours (benign, borderline and malignant). Materials and Methods: This study included forty five ovarian tumours, subdivided into fifteen cystadenomas (5 serous and 10 mucinous), fifteen borderline tumours (11 serous and 4 mucinous) and fifteen cystadenocarcinomas (9 serous and 6 mucinous). Paraffin sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histopathologic study, and with mouse monoclonal anti-MDM2 antibody for immunohistochemistry. Results: MDM2 positivity was detected in 28.9% of the studied ovarian tumours. All benign tumours were negative and positivity was significantly higher in malignant than borderline tumours (P value of chi-square test =0.000). Significantly, all MDM2 positive mucinous tumours were malignant with no positive mucinous borderline tumours. Malignant tumours showed positive MDM2 expression in 83.3% of mucinous type and in 55.6% of serous type. Borderline serous tumours showed negative MDM2 in 72.7% of cases (P value of Z test =0.04). Conclusions: Alterations in the expression of the cell cycle regulator (MDM2) occur early in the process of tumourigenesis in serous and mucinous ovarian tumours. We suggest that MDM2 may be used in those tumours as a marker for risk stratification and identification of cases with cancer development and progression. We recommend further studies on MDM2 immunohistochemistry, in conjunction with adjuvant methods as DNA ploidy and FISH gene amplification, focusing on the mucinous tumours and differentiating between the three tumour categories, benign, borderline and malignant.

• 한국수산과학회지
• /
• 제40권6호
• /
• pp.356-361
• /
• 2007

Recently, the development of various culture-independent identification techniques for environmental microbes has greatly enhanced our knowledge of microbial diversity. In particular, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rDNA fragments, generated using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is frequently used to examine the diversity of environmental bacterial populations. This method consists of direct extraction of the environmental DNA, amplification of the 200-600 bp 16S rDNA fragments with universal primers, and separation of the fragments according to their melting point on a denaturing gradient gel. In this study, we investigated the seaside microbial community in coastal areas of Busan, Korea, using culture-independent techniques. First, marine genomic DNA was extracted from seawater samples collected at Songjeong, Gwangahn, and Songdo Beaches. Then, PCR was used to amplify the bacterial 16S rDNA using universal primers, and DGGE was used to separate the amplified 500 bp 16S rDNA fragments. Finally, the tested 16S rDNA genes were further analyzed by sequencing. Based on these experiments, we found that DGGE analysis clearly showed variation among the regional groups. It can be used to monitor rapid changes in the bacterial diversity of various environments. In addition, the sequence analysis indicated the existence of many unculturable bacteria, in addition to Arcobacter, Pseudoaltermonas, and Vibrio species.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• 제7권2호
• /
• pp.201-206
• /
• 2002

Findings from European and American studies have indicated such health behaviors as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, and insufficient intake of grains, fruits and vegetables as risk factors for hypertension. However, because dietary pattern and health behaviors of Korean differ from people of other countries, the risk factors for Koreans could be different. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify food consumption patterns and health behavior characteristics of Korean hypertensive adults. Data on food consumptions and other health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and exercise together with development of hypertension were collected from 597 persons aged 20 to 69 years in a local community. The first stage of analysis utilized cluster analysis to aggregate individuals into different health behavior and food consumption groups. Four health behavior groups were characterized by passive cluster, smoker cluster, fitness cluster and drinker cluster. Food consumption patterns of the subjects were also aggregated into 4 different clusters: dairy cluster, grain & vegetable cluster, fruit cluster, and fish & meat cluster. Then univariate analysis was followed to identify the variables associated with hypertension. The final stage of analysis was the identification of the relative importance of the variables selected from the univariate analysis on hypertension, using multiple logistic analysis. The results showed that heavy drinking was the most significant health behavior associated hypertension, which was similar to the findings in European and American studies. However, unlike the findings from foreign studies, grain and vegetable consumption appeared to be a risk factor for hypertension. A possible reason for the contradictory results between Korean and Western studies may be the dependence of Koreans on white rice as the major staple food, and/or the frequent consumption of salted vegetables, rather than fresh vegetables as is customary in Europe and America.

• 한국축산식품학회지
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.535-541
• /
• 2017

This study investigated the psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from chicken meat to characterize their microbial composition during refrigerated storage. The bacterial community was identified by the Illumina MiSeq method based on bacterial DNA extracted from spoiled chicken meat. Molecular identification of the isolated psychrotrophic bacteria was carried out using 16S rDNA sequencing and their putrefactive potential was investigated by the growth at low temperature as well as their proteolytic activities in chicken meat. From the Illumina sequencing, a total of 187,671 reads were obtained from 12 chicken samples. Regardless of the type of chicken meat (i.e., whole meat and chicken breast) and storage temperatures ($4^{\circ}C$ and $10^{\circ}C$), Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis and Pseudomonas congelans were the most prominent bacterial species. Serratia spp. and Acinetobacter spp. were prominent in chicken breast and whole chicken meat, respectively. The 118 isolated strains of psychrotrophic bacteria comprised Pseudomonas spp. (58.48%), Serratia spp. (10.17%), and Morganella spp. (6.78%). All isolates grew well at $10^{\circ}C$ and they induced different proteolytic activities depending on the species and strains. Parallel analysis of the next generation sequencing and culture dependent approach provides in-depth information on the biodiversity of the spoilage microbiota in chicken meat. Further study is needed to develop better preservation methods against these spoilage bacteria.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• 제35권1호
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2002

Objectives : To review the drug prescription pattern of antiulcerative agents for elderly inpatients, Methods : The study population comprised inpatients of community hospitals who were members of the Korean Elderly Pharmacoepidemiologic Cohort (KEPEC), aged 65 years or over, beneficiaries of the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC) and residing in Busan city in 1993. The drug prescription information was collected from the claims data of hospitals where the cohort members received medical care between January 1993 and December 1594. The information included personal identification, age, gender, diagnosis, drug dosage, date of hospital admission and name of medical institutions where the study subjects received drug prescriptions. The data analysis produced outcomes in terms of distribution of antiulcerative agents by class and by medical institution and trend of relative prescription, Analysis was also performed in terms of combined prescriptions of antiulceratives and drugs that could induce risk from drug interaction with antiulceratives. Results : The number of patients prescribed antiulcerative agents was 1,059 (64,9%) male and 1,724 (65.5%) female among the total inpatients. An antacid and composite agent was the most frequently prescribed antiulcerative agent (70.8%), followed by $H_2$ antagonist (16.0%), Among the potential drugs that could induce risk from drug interaction with the antiulcerative agents, diazepam was the most frequently prescribed. The proportion of diazepam co-prescription was 22.5% of the total cimetidine prescriptions and 14.5% of the fetal omeprazole prescriptions. Conclusions : Antiulcerative drugs were frequently prescribed in the elderly inpatients. The adverse drug reaction could possibly be due to drug interaction. The study results could be used as fundamental data for further drug utilization review of antiulceratiye agents.

• 환경생물
• /
• 제38권3호
• /
• pp.424-432
• /
• 2020

The present study aimed to analyze the metaproteome of the microbial community comprising harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the Daechung reservoir, Korea. HAB samples located at GPS coordinates of 36°29'N latitude and 127°28'E longitude were harvested in October 2013. Microscopic observation of the HAB samples revealed red signals that were presumably caused by the autofluorescence of chlorophyll and phycocyanin in viable cyanobacteria. Metaproteomic analysis was performed by a gelbased shotgun proteomic method. Protein identification was conducted through a two-step analysis including a forward search strategy (FSS) (random search with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Cyanobase, and Phytozome), and a subsequent reverse search strategy (RSS) (additional Cyanobase search with a decoy database). The total number of proteins identified by the two-step analysis (FSS and RSS) was 1.8-fold higher than that by one-step analysis (FSS only). A total of 194 proteins were assigned to 12 cyanobacterial species (99 mol%) and one green algae species (1 mol%). Among the species identified, the toxic microcystin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843 (62.3%) species was the most dominant. The largest functional category was proteins belonging to the energy category (39%), followed by metabolism (15%), and translation (12%). This study will be a good reference for monitoring ecological variations at the meta-protein level of aquatic microalgae for understanding HAB.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제20권12호
• /
• pp.1614-1623
• /
• 2010

Bacteria were isolated from roots of sugarcane varieties grown in the fields of Punjab. They were identified by using API20E/NE bacterial identification kits and from sequences of 16S rRNA and amplicons of the cpn60 gene. The majority of bacteria were found to belong to the genera of Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Klebsiella, but members of genera Azospirillum, Rhizobium, Rahnella, Delftia, Caulobacter, Pannonibacter, Xanthomonas, and Stenotrophomonas were also found. The community, however, was dominated by members of the Pseudomonadaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, as representatives of these genera were found in samples from every variety and location examined. All isolates were tested for the presence of five enzymes and seven factors known to be associated with plant growth promotion. Ten isolates showed lipase activity and eight were positive for protease activity. Cellulase, chitinase, and pectinase were not detected in any strain. Nine strains showed nitrogen fixing ability (acetylene reduction assay) and 26 were capable of solubilizing phosphate. In the presence of 100 mg/l tryptophan, all strains except one produced indole acetic acid in the growth medium. All isolates were positive for ACC deaminase activity. Six strains produced homoserine lactones and three produced HCN and hexamate type siderophores. One isolate was capable of inhibiting the growth of 24 pathogenic fungal strains of Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Pythium, and Rhizoctonia spp. In tests of their abilities to grow under a range of temperature, pH, and NaCl concentrations, all isolates grew well on plates with 3% NaCl and most of them grew well at 4 to $41^{\circ}C$ and at pH 11.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• 제20권2호
• /
• pp.103-113
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study was performed to assess problems associated with sleep (short and long sleep duration) and to identify risky subgroups with sleep problems among adult cancer survivors. The study is based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI and VII) from 2013 to 2016. Methods: The sociodemographic and clinical data of 504 Korean cancer survivors aged 20-64 years was extracted from the KNHANES VI and VII database. Descriptive statistics for complex samples was used, and decision-tree analyses were performed using the SPSS WIN 24.0 program. Results: The mean age for survivors was approximately 51 years. The mean sleep duration was 6.97 hours; 36.2% of participants had short (< 7 hours) and 9.9% had long (> 8 hours) sleep duration. From the decision-trees analyses, the characteristics of the adult cancer survivors related to sleep problems were presented with six different pathways. Sleep problems were analyzed according to the survivors' sociodemographic information (age, education, living status, and occupation), clinical characteristics (body mass index, hypercholesterolemia, and anemia) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The HRQoL (${\leq}0.5$ or > 0.5 cutoff point) was a significant predictor of the participants' sleep problems because all six pathways were started from this predictor in the model. Conclusion: Health care professionals could use the decision-tree model for screening adult cancer survivors with sleep problems in clinical or community settings. Nursing interventions considering these specific individual characteristics and HRQoL level should be developed to have adequate sleep duration for Korean adult cancer survivors.