• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.97-104
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• 1998

Fugi are eukaryotic, nonphotosynthetic, filamentous or unicellular organisms, most of which grow on nonliving materials as saphrophytes. The majority are therefore opportunistic pathogens and predisposing factors often contribute to the establishment of fungal infection. These include an alteration in the normal flora of the host by prolonged administration of antibiotics, immunosup-pression, concurrent infections, damage to the skin or mucous membranes, constantly moist areas of skin or the exposure to a large infective dose, and as with fungal spores. Fungi may cause a variety of diseases which may be due directly to fungal invasion of tissue or more often to the ingestion of toxins produces by fungi in growing, standing or stored grains and other animals feeds. In this experiment, contaminated fugi were isolated and identified from animal feedstuffs such as Korean cattle, milking cows, pigs and chickens. Twelve genues were isolated from animal feeds, they are 9 from Korean cattle and milking cows feeds, 6 from pigs feeds, and 10 from chickens feeds. Among them, most frequently encountered species was Yeast(56 strains), followed by Fusarium sp(41 strains), Aspergillus sp(20 strains), each of Micorsporum sp and Trichophyton sp(17 strains), Penicilium sp(12 strains), in order. And also minority was isolated as Candide sp(4 strains), Trichoderma sp(3 strains), each of Epidermophytom sp and Absida sp(2 strains), and each of Sporothrix sp and Maduromyces sp(1 strain). Among the Aspergillus sp 20 isolates, A flavus(5 strains), A nidulans(4 strains), A fumigatus(3 strains), A glucans(3 strains), A niger(3 strains) and A terreus(2 strains) were identified.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 2004

Purpose: This study was to investigate the effects of ethanol in ingested patients by analyzing data from a single institution's registry, Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 50 patients who has ingested drugs with/without ethanol came to emergency department from January 2004 to May 2004. Only patients over 18 years of age were included. Clinical characteristics, general and specific treatment, laboratory finding, complication, and clinical outcomes were obtained from protocol. Patients were divided into two groups: drug ingested with alcohol (ethanol group, n=18), and ingested without alcohol (non-ethanol group, n=32). Results: The age, the amout of ingestion, the time to treatment, the systolic blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure and the shock duration were not different between two groups. The AST level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($230.94\pm518.88$ U/L vs $43.22\pm63.39$ U/L, p=0.002). The ALT level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($97.06\pm152.98$ U/L vs $32.75\pm43.10$ U/L, p=0.001). The lactic acid level with the ethanol group was higher than with the non-ethanol group ($7.40\pm6.33$ mmol/L vs $3.77\pm3.10$ mmol/L, p=0.001). The hospital stay duration and the admission rate were not different between two groups. Conlusions: The ethanol increased the levels of serum AST, ALT and lactic acid in intoxicated patients. But the ethanol dose not increase admission rate and duration of admission stay in intoxicated patients.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.449-455
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• 1996

Betaine is one of the major water-soluble components in Lycii Fructus. In the present study the effect of repeated betaine treatment on the hepatotoxicity and the cytochrome P-4 50-dependent enzyme system was examined in adult female rats. Administrations of betaine (100 or 1,000mg/kg/day, ip) to rats repeatedly for 4 or 9 days did not evoke hepatotoxic response as determined by increases in glutamic pyruvic transaminase(GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase(GOT) activities measured 24 hours following the final dose of betaine. The activities of aminopyrine N-demethylase, p-nitroanisole O-demethylase and p-nitrophenol hydroxylase as well as the contents of cytochrome P-450 were determined in hepatic microsomes of rats treated with betaine(1,000mg/kg/day, ip) for 4 or 9 days. Repeated treatment of rats with betaine for a period of 4 days induced a marginal decrease in the contents of cytochrome P-450, but did not influence the activities of p-nitrophenol hydroxylase, p-nitroanisole O-demethylase, or aminopyrine N-demethylase. Extension of the betaine treatment to 9 consecutive days failed to alter the parameters for hepatic drug metabolizing activity determined in the present study. Since repeated large doses of betaine were demonstrated to be tolerated by rats without showing any toxicity or changes in drug metabolizing enzyme activities in the liver, this compound appears to be relatively safe to animals upon long-term ingestion.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.243-249
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• 1998

The methodology for justification and optimization of the countermeasures related with contamination management of milk was designed based on the cost and benefit analysis. The application results were discussed for the deposition on August 15, when pasture is fully developed in Korean agricultural conditions. A dynamic food chain model DYNACON was used to estimate the time-dependent radioactivity of milk after the deposition. The considered countermeasures are (1) the ban of milk consumption (2) the substitution of clean fodder, which are effective in reducing the ingestion dose as well as simple and easy to carry out in the first year after the deposition. The total costs of the countermeasures were quantitatively estimated in terms of cost equivalent of doses and monetary costs. It is obvious that a fast reaction after the deposition is an important factor in cost effectiveness of the countermeasures. In most cases, the substitution of clean fodder was more effective countermeasure than the ban of consumption. A fast reaction after the deposition made longer justifiable/optimal duration of the countermeasure.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.78-81
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• 2006

Mad-honey poisoning is mainly brought about by the honey imported from Napal, Turkey, Brazil and other parts of Europe. This mad honey is extracted from Ericaceae plants of Rhododendron species and contains grayanotoxins that causes poisoning. These toxic compounds exert a specific stimulatory action on membrane permeability to Na+ions in various excitable tissues and cause depolarization of cell membranes. The toxic effects of grayanotoxins contained honey are mainly cardiovascular disturbances with bradycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, hypotension. There are Other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, salivation, dizziness, weakness and loss of consciousness. The precise amount for a toxic dose is not known. In general the severity of the honey poisoning depends on the amount ingested. Two cases of mad-honey poisoning are described here. Both patients showed bradycardia and arterial hypotension after ingestion of honey which was brought from Nepal. They were recovered fully within 24 hours after administration of fluids and atropine sulphate.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1969

Liver functions in diffuse parenchymal liver disease such as cirrhosis of the liver depend largely on the effective hepatic blood flow rather than on the individual cell functions. Clinical methods of measuring the hepatic blood flow were developed recently by the application of colloidal disappearance rate. In order to correlate the radiogold disappearance rate to conventional biochemical liver function tests, 21 normal subjects and 80 cases of cirrhosis of the liver were studied with both methods. The results are summarized as following: 1. The validity of external counting method to measure the blood disappearance rate of colloidal radiogold was confirmed by in vitro counting of the serial blood samples. 2. The blood disappearance rate of collidal radiogold was essentially the same. as the liver uptake rate of colloidal radiogold in normal and cirrhotic subjects with various degrees of functional disturbance. And it seemed there was no serious extrahepatic removal of the colloidal radiogold. 3. The disappearance rate of colloidal radiogold was not significantly changed by the posture change, but was enhanced by ingestion of 500 ml of water. 4. The disappearance rate of colloidal radiogold was not influenced by single dose of Telepaque, while BSP retention was increased after Telepaque. 5. The mean disappearance half time of colloidal radiogold in normal subjects was $2.49{\pm}0.391$(S.D.) minutes. The mean normal disappearance rate constant (K value) was $0.285{\pm}0.0428$(S.D.)/minute. 6. The colloidal radiogold disappearance half time was abnormally prolonged (over 3.2 min.) in $87.7{\pm}3.68$(S.D.) % of cirrhotic subjects. 7. In patients of liver cirrhosis the blood disappearance rate of colloidal radiogold correlated well to serum albumin and globulin levels and BSP retention which were considered to reflect functions of hepatic parenchymal cells. There was, however, no correlation between colloidal disappearance rate and thymol turbidity test, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and serm alkaline phosphatase activities. The latters were considered to be associated with the activity of liver disease.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2015

The widely used polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based solutions have been proven effective for bowel preparation when 4 L of the solution is administered before colonoscopy. However, large volumes of the solutions are generally poorly tolerated. A new PEG-based solution consisting of 2 L of PEG and a high dose of ascorbic acid has recently become available. Electrolyte abnormalities caused by PEG-based solutions have rarely been reported. We report on a case of acute severe hyponatremia with associated generalized tonic-clonic seizures after bowel preparation with a low-volume PEG plus ascorbic acid solution in a 74-year-old woman with no history of seizures. She took a beta blocker, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, and glimepiride for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. She showed general weakness, nausea, agitation, muscle cramping, and seizures after ingestion of the PEG plus ascorbic acid solution. Her serum sodium level was 112 mEq/L. Her symptoms improved after intravenous administration of hypertonic saline. Physicians should pay attention to screening for electrolytes and development of neurological symptoms during bowel preparation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2003

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous environmental toxicant that can be exposed to humans by ingestion of contaminated food including fish and bread. MeHg has been suggested to exert its toxicity through its high reactivity to thiols, generation of arachidonic acid and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and elevation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels (［$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$). However, the precise mechanism has not been fully defined. Here we show that phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) is a critical pathway for MeHg-induced toxicity. MeHg activated the acidic form of sphingomyelinase (A-SMase) and group IV cytosolic phospholipase $A_2$ ($cPLA_2$) downstream of PC-PLC, but these enzymes as well as protein kinase C were not linked to MeHg's toxicity. Furthermore, MeHg produced ROS, which did not cause the toxicity. However, D6O9, an inhibitor of PC-PLC, significantly reversed the toxicity in a time- and dose-dependent manner in MDCK and SH-5YSY cells. Addition of EGTA to culture media resulted in partial decrease of [$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$ and partially blocked cell death. In contrast, D609 completely prevented cell death with parallel decreases in diacylglycerol and ［$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$. Together, our findings indicated that MeHg-induced toxicity was caused by elevation of ［$Ca^{2+}$]$_{i}$ through activation of PC-PLC. The toxicity was not attributable to the signaling pathways such as $cPLA_2$, A-SMase, and PKC, or to the generation of ROS.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.579-583
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• 2017

Tetragonia tetragonioides seems to be a promising antiulcer medicinal plant due to the presence of water-soluble polysaccharide and cerebroside as its major constituents. There have been no previous studies using T. tetragonioides polysaccharide extract (TPE) to assess its antidiabetic effect in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in mice. This study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of TPE in diabetic mice, which was established by one-week intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg STZ. After three weeks of TPE treatment at a dose of 100 mg/kg, a maintenance of body weight, a decrement in plasma glucose, and low levels of triglyceride, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase were observed in diabetic mice. Furthermore, the ingestion of TPE lowered the blood glucose levels during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and restored most of the tested parameters to their normal levels. Therefore, the antidiabetic potential of T. tetragonioides has been demonstrated for the first time by our research.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.409-417
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• 2016

Background: Airborne radioactive particulate in many important nuclear facilities (particularly nuclear power plants) will have a strong impact on the relative public dose if they are released into the corresponding environment traversing the stack or vents. The radiation protection researchers have regarded the relative environment assessing and estimation of public doses. And the model of assessing impact of discharges radioactive substance to the environment have been recommended by many international organizations (e.g. IAEA) with the nuclear energy safety and radiation protection. Materials and Methods: This paper introduced the generic models that were suggested by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for use in assessing the impact of discharges of radioactive substances to the environment (e.g. IAEA Safety Report Series No.19). Results and Discussion: The writers of this paper, based on the recommend methods, assessed the discharge limits in some airborne radioactive substances discharging standards. The reasons that IAEA method are introduced are mainly the following considerations: IAEA is one of international organizations with some authorities in the nuclear energy safety and radiation protection; and, more important, the recommend modes are operational methods rather than the methods having little operations such as that have used by some researchers. Conclusion: It is wish that the introduced methods in this paper can be referenced in draft or revise of the standards related to discharges of radioactive substances to the environment.