• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2007

Plant extract has attracted considerable interest in oral disease therapy. The present study was performed to observe the antibacterial effect on cariogenic Streptococcus mutans GS5 and Streptococcus sobrinus 6715, and periodontopathic Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 of phytoncide from Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. et Zucc employing the measurement of optical density, viable cell counts, and antibiotic sensitivity. The results were as follows: 1. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the phytoncide for S. mutans, S. sobrinus, and A. actinomycetemcomitans was observed to be 0.5%, 1%, and 0.2%, respectively. 2. Minimum bactericidal concentration of the phytoncide for S. mutans, S. sobrinus, and A. actinomycetemcomitans was determined to be 0.5%, 2%, and 0.2%, respectively. 3. The bacteria exposed to the phytoncide become more sensitive to antibiotics. The phytoncide enhanced significantly antibacterial activity of ampicillin against S. mutans and S. sobrinus. It also increased significantly the activity of penicillin and amoxicillin against S. sobrinus. In contrast, the phytoncide augmented the activity of amoxicillin and cefotaxime against A. actinomycetemcomitans but the increase was not statistically significant. The overall results indicate that phytoncide from Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. et Zucc used for this study has a strong antibacterial activity against cariogenic and periodontopathic bacteria and that it also has permeabilizing effect on certain antibiotics against these bacteria. Therefore, the phytoncide may be used as a candidate for prevention and therapeutic agent against oral infectious disease including dental caries and periodontal disease.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2016

Gargle solution has typically been used for the prevention of oral infectious disease such as dental caries and periodontitis. However, the use of most gargle solutions is controversial in application for children because some gargle solutions have harmful side effects. Electrolyzed water is generated by passed an electric current and has antimicrobial activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the efficacy of electrolyzed water in various conditions for eliminating cariogenic bacteria. Electrolyzed water was generated by a platinum electrode in the presence of sodium chloride at various concentrations. Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus were cultivated into a brain heart infusion broth. After harvesting planktonic bacteria, the pellets were treated with the electrolyzed water and commercial gargle solutions and plated on a mitis-salivarius agar plate. Also, the anti-biofilm activity of the electrolyzed water and commercial gargle solutions was investigated after biofilm formation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus. The bacteria in the biofilm were plated onto a mitis-salivarius agar plate. The plates were incubated, and the colony forming unit was measured. The electrolyzed water containing sodium chloride showed significant antibacterial activity against S. mutans and S. sobrinus as well as some gargle solutions. Furthermore, the electrolyzed water had more disruptive effect on the biofilm of S. mutans and S. sobrinus and killed more bacteria in the biofilm than commercial gargle solutions. The results demonstrate that electrolyzed water may be a useful gargle solution for prevention of dental caries.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.301-311
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• 2011

Objectives : In order to identify the awareness of influenza A (H1N1) having currently high frequency and risk as an infectious disease, to find problems and to reflect them on curriculum improvements from students before/after clinical practices. Methods : The data was collected from 279 dental hygiene students of 1st and 2nd years at G health college university from December 6th 2010 to December 10th 2010. The questionnaire were consisted of awareness of influenza A (H1N1), preventive attitude, sociodemographic characteristics. Results : 1. 1st year was 51.6%, the case having dental experience was 51.2%, in the infection control training experience 'had' was 46.6%. In the route acquiring the information, the mass media was 70.6%, in obtained information, personal hygiene was 82.1%. In the impact on human body, 'great impact' was 58.1%. In terms of the most need for response and preparedness, vaccination was the highest, 67.4%. People who experienced influenza A (H1N1) were 10.7%. 2. Awareness of influenza A (H1N1) was 0.71 points, and treatment and spreading mechanism was 0.78 points, prevention was 0.63 points, causes and definition was 0.53 points. 3. In the attitude for infection prevention of influenza A (H1N1), 'washing hands before practice' was the highest, 0.99 points and 'wear the mask only in case of contact with patient within 1~2 meters upon occurrence of no aerosol' was the lowest, 0.72 points. 4. Awareness of influenza A (H1N1) according to sociodemographic characteristics showed the significant differences upon the impacts on systemic health (p<0.05). Preventive attitude didn't show a significant difference in grade, clinical experience, experience in infection control training, acquiring rmation routes, the possibility for occurrence, impact on systemic health, the most need for prevention, experience in influenza A (H1N1) (p>0.05). 5. The significantly correlated between awareness of influenza A (H1N1) and preventive attitude(p<0.01). Conclusions : Information and preventive attitude for influenza A (H1N1) as well as systematic training programs to identify actual affecting factors and to improve the practice are needed. Also government's institutional support is needed.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.131-142
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• 2020

Chrysnathemum stunt viroid (CSVd), a small, single-stranded, infectious RNA, has caused a severe problem in chrysanthemum in the world. In Korea, since CSVd was firstly observed in 1997, the disease has been spread throughout the whole country rapidly. In spite of the seriousness, few methods for control of CSVd have been known without prevention. The use of resistant cultivars is one of the most efficient approaches for overcoming CSVd disease in chrysanthemum cultivation. This study was carried out to identify chrysanthemum genetic resources for the resistance to chrysanthemum stunt viroid (CSVd). A total of 192 commercial cultivars including 167 spray and 25 standard chrysanthemum were screened with CSVd through grafting inoculation method. In most of the inoculated cultivars, typical disease symptoms, stunting of plant height, reduced flower size, and flower color bleaching, were induced. Several cultivars, however, were symptomless or showed delay in symptom expression. Of 192 chrysanthemum cultivars, two cultivars with less than 5% of the average reduction rate of plant height, 'Chiwerel' and 'Jeongheungdaesin', were rated as resistant. And six cultivars less than 20% inculding 'Inga' were rated as moderate resistant. The remaining 184 cultivars with a high level of reduction were rated as susceptible. We expect that these genetic resources can be used in crossbreeding programs for developing CSVd resistant cultivars of chrysanthemum.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.139-145
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• 2020

This study was carried out to identify the occurrence of transovarian transmitted diseases and antibody positive rates among Korean native breeder chickens. The infection rates with Salmonella pullorum and Salmonella gallinarum among 16-week-old, 36-week-old, and 56-week-old breeder chickens and the antibody positive rates to Egg Drop Syndrome '76, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae among 16-week-old, 18-week-old, and 56-week-old breeder chickens were identified, and the antibody positive rates to seven major transovarian transmitted diseases among 1-day-old chicks were investigated. As a result, no infection with Salmonella pullorum and Salmonella gallinarum was found among the investigated subjects of all ages. Vaccinated breeder chickens showed the 100% antibody positive rate to Egg Drop Syndrome '76, and unvaccinated breeder chickens showed the 100% antibody negative rate to Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae, confirming that there was no infection with Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae. As a result of the antibody tests of the 1-day-old chicks for transovarian transmitted diseases, it was found that vaccinated chicks showed good antibody positive rates to avian encephalomyelitis, chicken infectious anemia, and avian reovirus, confirming that they had power of defense against the relevant infectious diseases, and that unvaccinated chicks showed the 100% antibody negative rates to avian leukosis, chicken reticuloendotheliosis, and Mycoplasma synoviae, confirming that there was no infection with the relevant diseases. Given that the results of this study showed that among the transovarian transmitted diseases of chickens, there was no history of infection with diseases against which vaccination was not administered and high antibody positive rates were found with diseases against which vaccination was administered, it is judged that chickens with good power of defense against diseases were bred, and it is deemed that constant monitoring and vaccination against transovarian transmitted diseases will be necessary for the control and prevention of the diseases.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.67-84
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• 2003

Immunization has been one of the most effective measures preventing from infectious diseases. However, children routine vaccination rate of Korea was 68.2% and it was not higher than expected. Korean government revised the School Health Law for every primary school children to submit the vaccination certificate record from 2005. It is quite important national Infectious disease prevention policy to keep the immunizations rate high and monitor the immunizations rate continuously. To do this, National Institute of Health introduced the National Immunization Registry(NIR) Program at 2000. Objective : The aims of this study was to evaluate the Immunization Registry program which has been implementing since 2000 at the Public Health Centers(PHC). Methods : The mail survey was done from November 2001 to January 2002. 169 (69%) Public Health Centers among 244 PHC were responded. Results : The respondents of PHC sud the Immunization Registry(IR) program had reduced the workload (18.5%). 69.2% said they inputted the immunization data into the IR program after the shots were given. 86.5% said they hadn´t checked or retrieved the children lists who had missed the scheduled immunization. Only 17.2% said the speed of internet for the R program was good. It showed that 20% of respondents hadn´t written down documents, records on immunization any more. Even there were a lot of negative results, the respondents of PHC thought that the IR program was effective. They especially agreed that the IR program could make the job accurate (81.5%), convenient (71.3%), and reduced the chances of making mistakes (71.3%), increase the service quality (78.5%). And they were well adapting the job process of the IR (79.63%). Bivariate analysis showed that the software program was the important determinants of IR success. The only Bit Computer software program has been evaluated to be less satisfactory than the Integrated (Posdata operating system + Bit software) program. Other variables, such as age, duration of present job, and location of PHC (metropolitan, small city, rural area) were not significantly related. Conclusion : It seemed that the success of NIR might depend on the software program. Because Integrated program, which has been developed from 1994, include not only the general operating and management program for PHC but also IR program. It was natural to prefer Integrated program to Bit software program. So we can suggest that it is essential for the NIR to be successful that not only the immunization software program but also hardware equipments and public health information system should be further improved.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2001

Background : The Clostridium difficile is the most important identifiable cause of nosocomial infectious diarrhea and colitis, which lengthens hospital stay. Recently incidence of C. difficile has been increasing in an university hospital, and an intervention for prevention and control of C. difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD) was in prompt need. Methods : Subjects were the patients in the neurosurgical intensive care unit(NCU) where C. difficile was most frequently isolated. To increase participation of various departments, we used the CQI method, because management of CDAD requires a wholistic approach including control of antibiotics, barrier precaution and environmental cleaning and disinfection. Duration of the CQI activities was 9 months from April to December 1999. Results : The identified problems were misuse and overuse of antibiotics, lack of consciousness of medical personnels and the possibility of transmission from the contaminated environment and tube feeding. Education for proper use of antibiotics and management of C. difficile infection, use of precaution stickers, supplement of handwashing equipments, emphasis on environmental disinfection, and the change of the process of tube feeding were done. The CDAD rate in NCU was significantly decreased after the CQI program (8.6 case per 1,000 patient days from January to April 1999 vs 4.8 from May to December 1999). The distribution of neurosurgical wards including NCU among the total number of isolated C. difficile from the clinical specimens dropped from 49.4% in January to April to 33,7% in May to December. The average hospital stay of the neurosurgical department changed from 19.6 days to 15.2 days. Also, the effect of the CQI activities for C. difficile may have affected the incidence of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE). Duration and dosage of certain antibiotics used in the NS department were decreased. The distribution of neurosurgical department in the number of VRE isolated patients declined from 18.4% to 11.1%. Conclusion : Infection control of resistant organisms such as C. difficile is likely to be successful when management of environmental contamination an collaborative efforts of decreasing the patients' risk factors such as antibiotics management and decreasing the length of hospital stay come simultaneously. For this work, related departments need to actively participate in the entire process under a common target through discussions for identifying problems and bringing up solutions. In this respect, making use of a CQI team is an efficient method of infection control for gathering participation and cooperation of related departments.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.91-103
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• 2022

This study surveyed 101 occupational therapists who were performing occupational therapy before and after the COVID-19 outbreak to compare their perceptions and performance of hand washing, use of personal protective equipment, and infection control of surrounding environment. Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal wallis H test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Pearson's correlation coefficient were used analyzed. As a result, it was confirmed that they received better infection control education after the outbreak compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19, and their experience with infectious diseases was lower. In addition, it was found that the perception and performance of infection control in hand washing, personal protective equipment, and surrounding environment cleaning were improved after the outbreak compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19. However, to this day, hand washing for more than 40 seconds in running water recommended by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cleaning the treatment room, and disinfection of treatment tools are still in need of improvement. Through this study, infection control education should be repeated regularly to minimize the occurrence of infectious diseases, and It will be a basic data that can be used in infection control education and follow-up studies for occupational therapists in the future.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.219-225
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• 2020

Importance of touch equipment and smart learning increases and public institutions and educational facilities are applying smart devices to their daily environments. However, users of public smart devices are at risk of being exposed to the direct and indirect spread of infectious diseases. This study develops an exo-finger that wraps the fingertips of smart device users and is intended to have a disease prevention effect when used on public equipment. An exoskeletal body was fabricated by inserting a secondary material which is a mixture of the activating material, carbon black (CB) and a macromolecular polymer (elastomer) into a mold. This device was confirmed to have a touch function when the CB content was 0.030 wt% or higher, and the content of the elastomer was varied so that it could have a friction force similar to that when a person touches a smart device (a friction coefficient of 2.5). Through experiments, it was concluded that the CB content had little effect on the friction coefficient. As a result of testing the completed prototype on a smart device, it was proven that the developed exoskeletal device can be useful in situations where it is impossible to touch due to wearing protective gears, or when equipment such as gloves is used to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.44.1-44.17
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• 2023

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern around the globe. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit broad-spectrum and efficient antibacterial activity with an added advantage of low drug resistance. The higher water content and 3D network structure of the hydrogels are beneficial for maintaining antimicrobial peptide activity and help to prevent degradation. The antimicrobial peptide released from hydrogels also hasten the local wound healing by promoting epithelial tissue regeneration and granulation tissue formation. Objective: This study aimed at developing sodium alginate based hydrogel loaded with a novel antimicrobial peptide Chol-37(F34-R) and to investigate the characteristics in vitro and in vivo as an alternative antibacterial wound dressing to treat infectious wounds. Methods: Hydrogels were developed and optimized by varying the concentrations of crosslinkers and subjected to various characterization tests like cross-sectional morphology, swelling index, percent water contents, water retention ratio, drug release and antibacterial activity in vitro, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wound mice model in vivo. Results: The results indicated that the hydrogel C proved superior in terms of cross-sectional morphology having uniformly sized interconnected pores, a good swelling index, with the capacity to retain a higher quantity of water. Furthermore, the optimized hydrogel has been found to exert a significant antimicrobial activity against bacteria and was also found to prevent bacterial infiltration into the wound site due to forming an impermeable barrier between the wound bed and external environment. The optimized hydrogel was found to significantly hasten skin regeneration in animal models when compared to other treatments in addition to strong inhibitory effect on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α). Conclusions: Our results suggest that sodium alginate -based hydrogels loaded with Chol-37(F34-R) hold the potential to be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in treating infectious skin wounds.