• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.123-139
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• 2023

In this study, a survey was conducted on the development of meal kits for children's foodservice to increase the convenience of the cooking process. It was performed among the foodservice managers in the 141 children's foodservice facilities registered in the Center for Children's Foodservice Management about meal-kits in Changwon areas. The survey results were analyzed according to the children's foodservice scale type. The biggest problem in a foodservice system was "difficult to purchase food ingredients directly every week" (38.4%) in small-scale children's foodservices, and "difficult to use the served menu without modification" (38.2%) in institutional children's foodservices (P<0.001). The most important factor when choosing the meal kit was "quality" (41.1%). Respondents on having an experience with using the meal kit were low at 34.8%, and the reasons for not using the meal kits were "expensive" (67.3%) and "not fresh food ingredients" (18.4%). The main reasons for not using children's foodservice meal kits were "expensiveness" (64.4%) and "necessity of adding disinfection process" (16.1%). Most of the reasons for not wanting to use children's foodservice meal kits were that they did not trust the safety of the meal kits. The use of meal kits in children's foodservices may reduce the preparation process and increase the efficiency of foodservice although the safety and quality of meal kits should be guaranteed. The appropriate hygiene management standards need to be set, and HACCP should be applied to develop meal kits for children's foodservices.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.19.1-19.6
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• 2023

Rapid immunochromatography test (RICT) kits are commonly used for the diagnosis of canine parvovirus (CPV) because of their rapid turnaround time, simplicity, and ease of use. However, the potential for cross-reactivity and low sensitivity can yield false-positive or false-negative results. There are 4 genotypes of CPV. Therefore, evaluating the performance and reliability of RICT kits for CPV detection is essential to ensure accurate diagnosis for appropriate treatment. In this study, we evaluated the performance of commercial RICT kits in the diagnosis of all CPV genotypes. The cross-reactivity of 6 commercial RICT kits was evaluated using 8 dog-related viruses and 4 bacterial strains. The limit of detection (LOD) was measured for the 4 genotypes of CPV and feline panleukopenia virus. The tested kits showed no cross-reactivity with the 8 dog-related viruses or 4 bacteria. Most RICT kits showed strong positive results for CPV-2 variants (CPV-2a, CPV-2b, and CPV-2c). However, the 2 kits produced negative results for CPV-2 or CPV-2b at a titer of 10⁵ FAID₅₀/mL, which may result in inaccurate diagnoses. Therefore, some kits need to improve their LOD by increasing their binding efficiency to detect all CPV genotypes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.691-696
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of five commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (A, B, C, D, and E) from different suppliers for detecting aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$). $AFB_1$-free corn samples supplemented with different levels of $AFB_1$ (5, 10, and $20{\mu}g/kg$) were used as positive controls and 6 replicates of each control sample were tested to evaluate the accuracy and precision of these kits. In addition, we also evaluated the performance of these ELISA kits for $AFB_1$ in 30 feed samples, including corn, distillers dried grains with soluble, wheat samples, soybean meal, and poultry feed, which were verified by high performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the coefficients of variation ranged from 1.18% to 16.22% in intra-plate and 2.85% to 18.04% in inter-plate for the determination of $AFB_1$. The half maximal inhibitory concentration for five kits ranged from 3.72 to $7.22{\mu}g/kg$. The quantitation limits of $AFB_1$ were all under the legal limit in China but somewhat inconsistent with kit instructions. Although the recovery rate of four of the five kits were either less than 90% or more than 110%, all these values were acceptable in practice. Two kits had high false positive rates (C and E). In conclusion, our results revealed that the qualities of five tested ELISA kits were significantly different.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 2015

Purpose Serum estradiol ($E_2$) measurement is requested for diagnosing menstrual cycles, ovulation induction, infertility, and menopause. $E_2$ is measured using several methods and kits including radioimmunoassay (RIA) and chemiluminescece immunoassay (CLIA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate quality of these methods and to compare them with each other. Materials and Methods Seven radioimmunoassay kits and two CLIA methods were included in the analysis. Using standard samples and patient samples, intra-assay precision, inter-assay precision, correlation between other methods, sensitivity, and recovery rate were evaluated. Results For all tested kits and methods, coefficients of variance (CVs) of intra-assay precision test were 10.9~13.6% in low-level samples and less than 10% in medium and high-level samples. CVs of inter-assay precision test were 10.8~12.3% in low-level samples and less than 10% in medium and high-level samples with all tested kits and methods. Recovery rates were $92.7{\pm}12.4%$ for SIEMENS, $101.4{\pm}18.4%$ for DIAsource, $95.1{\pm}11.5%$ for AMP, $108.4{\pm}18.5%$ for BECKMAN COULTER, $104.2{\pm}13.5%$ for BECKMAN COULTER Ultra Sensitive, $101.3{\pm}11.6%$ for CIS Bio, and $93.1{\pm}13.2%$ for MP kits. Sensitivity was 7.5, 6.2, 5.7, 6.2, 5.3, 4.5, and 5.5 pg/mL for SIEMENS, DIAsource, AMP, BECKMAN COULTER, BECKMAN COULTER Ultra Sensitive, CIS Bio, and MP kits, respectively. The measurement by MP kit was slightly higher than those by other kits in low-level samples, and the measurement by E170 was slightly higher than those of other kits in medium and high-level samples. In the measurement of standard sample for external quality control, SIEMENS kit produced relatively lower values whereas E170, Architect, and MP kits produced relatively higher values compared with other kits. Conclusion All tested kits for $E_2$ measurement have satisfactory performance for clinical use. However, correlation between kits should be considered when test kits are to be changed, because some pairs of kits do not have correlations with each other.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.76-79
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• 2018

Purpose Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is cell-surface 180-200 kDa glycoprotein that is overexpressed in breast, stomach pancreas, lung, and colorectal cancers. CEA was first described in 1965 by Gold and Freedman and then serum CEA of colorectal cancer patients was first measured in 1969 by radioimmunoassay by Thomson. CEA is currently most widely used tumor marker in the clinic for management of colorectal cancer. Various CEA test kits have been developed and commercialized. CEA kits from different manufacturers might have different test results because of different reagents and protocol. The purpose of this study was to compare results of four commercial available CEA kits. Materials and Methods This study was designed to evaluate four commercially available CEA kits using serum samples acquired from 120 patients who visited our clinic. Test results were compared and analyzed according to the respective test methods. High concentration samples were diluted with saline and diluted solution. Results All of the four kits showed a significant correlation within the reference value. However, three of the four kits used for the dilution test using high concentration samples showed the hook effect. Conclusion Results of the present study showed that It is important to establish the standardized dilution standards for the high-concentration specimens to manage the error of the test result by the hook effect.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1350-1358
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• 2012

Viral pathogens, alongside other pathogens, have major effects on crustacean aquaculture. Hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) is an emerging virus in the shrimp industry and has been detected in shrimp farms worldwide. The HPV genome has greater diversity than other shrimp viruses owing to its wide host range and geographical distribution. Therefore, developing diagnostic tools is essential to detect even small copy numbers from the target region of native HPV isolates. We have developed two easy to use quantitative real-time PCR kits, called Green Star and Dual Star, which contain all of the necessary components for real-time PCR, including HPV primers, using the primers obtained from the sequences of HPV isolates from Korea, and analyzed their specificity, efficiency, and reproducibility. These two kits could detect from 1 to $1{\times}10^9$ copies of cloned HPV DNA. The minimum detection limits obtained from HPV-infected shrimp were $7.74{\times}10^1$ and $9.06{\times}10^1$ copies in the Green Star and Dual Star assay kits, respectively. These kits can be used for rapid, sensitive, and efficient screening for HPV isolates from Korea before the introduction of postlarval stages into culture ponds, thereby decreasing the incidence of early development of the disease.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the importance of customers' selection attributes for meal kits, which is rapidly increasing in the home meal replacement food market, and empirically analyze the effect of food selection attributes on consumer satisfaction and repurchase intention toward meal kits. Research design, data, and methodology: Based on the results of previous research, factors that customers consider the most when purchasing a meal kit are nutritional components, ingredients, hygiene, taste, and price. The empirical analysis is conducted by using structural equation modeling to determine the extent that customer selection attributes for meal kits affect customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. The survey is conducted online from January 1 to March 15, 2022, and 282 valid samples are used for the analysis. Results: The result of the analysis confirms that nutritional components, hygiene, taste, and price have a statistically significant effect on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. However, the effect of food ingredients on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention is rejected because no statistically significant results are obtained. Conclusions: As an empirical analysis of the importance of customer selection attributes of meal kits, this study has meaningful implications for related industries and business-to-business operators and provides basic data for the strategic development of related industries.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2012

Purpose : Serum insulin levels are useful indicator which of reflecting the function of insulin secretion in pancreatic ${\beta}$ cell and diagnosis of diabetes, differentiating the cause of impaired glucose tolerance. Insulin measurement kits have shown some differences in many ways such as test methods as well as quality control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of seven manufacturing companies commercial kits. Materials and Methods : The values of insulin measured by three manufacturing companies (Biosource, Siemens, TFB) with 59 samples in August 2009 were compared with those measured by four manufacturing companies (Immunotech, Izotope, BNIBT, Cisbio) with 68 samples in December 2011. We evaluated precision, recovery rate, dilution test and correlation of serum insulin measurement using seven manufacturing company kits. Statistical program SPSS 12.0 was used for the verification of results. Results : The coefficients variation of the precision on all seven different kits were showed within 5.0%. Recovery rate of Biosource, Siemens, TFB kits on three different levels showed 94.2~103.7%, 99.0~104.6%, 99.7~107.6% respectively. Immunotech, Izotope, BNIBT, Cisbio were 93.5~99.1%, 91.4~99.1%, 99.2~131.0%, 84.8~102.3% respectively. There was strong correlation between the measurement of insulin by Biosource kit and that by two commercial kits, Siemens (R2=0.96), TFB (R2=0.99). There was good correlation between the measurement of insulin by TFB kit and that by three commercial kits, Immunotech (R2=0.97), Izotope (R2=0.96), Cisbio (R2=0.97). In the dilution test performed with more than 200 ${\mu}IU/ml$ high concentration samples, samples with diabetes correctly was measured in all seven manufacturing kits. However, as measured with insulinoma samples TFB, Siemens, Izotope, Cisbio kits were correctly measured, but Biosource and Immunotech kits were measured 47.4 ${\mu}IU/ml$, 72.3 ${\mu}IU/ml$, respectively. Conclusion : Serum Insulin radioimmunoassay kits were showed excellent precision, correlation and good recovery rate. However, some kits were not measured correctly in the high concentration insulin values. when selecting a kit should be considered many factors that cost effectiveness, compatible for automation equipment, high performance kit, the environment for each laboratory such as reaction time and reporting time.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3179-3183
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to assess the rate of uptake of a customised annual Colorectal Cancer Awareness, Screening and Treatment Project (CCASTP) using faecal immunohistochemical test (FIT) kits in low income communities in Malaysia. The immediate objectives were (1) to evaluate the level of adherence of CRC screening among low-income groups, (2) to assess the knowledge and awareness of the screened population and (3) to assess the accuracy of FIT kits. A total of 1,581 FIT kits were distributed between years 2010 to 2015 to healthy asymptomatic participants of the annual CCASTP organized by Empowered - the Cancer Advocacy Society of Malaysia. Data for socio-demographic characteristics, critical health and lifestyle information of the registered subjects were collected. Findings for use of the FIT kits were collected when they were returned for stool analyses. Those testingd positive were invited to undergo a colonoscopy examination. A total of 1,436 (90.8%) of the subjects retuned the FIT-kits, showing high compliance. Among the 129 subjects with positive FIT results, 92 (71.3%) underwent colonoscopy. Six cases (6.5%) of CRC were found. Based on the data collected, the level of awareness of stool examination and knowledge about CRC was poor amongst the participants. Gender, age group, ethnicity and risk factors (i.e. smoking, lack of exercise and low consumption of fresh fruits) were associated with positive FIT-kit results. In conclusion, CRC screening can be performed in the community with a single FIT-kit. Although CRC knowledge and awareness is poor in low-income communities, the average return rate of the FIT kits and rate of colonoscopy examination were 91.2% and 70.3%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2014

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) causes major economic losses to the Korean pig industry. ELISA tests using recombinant nucleocapsid protein of PRRSV have been most commonly used for PRRS diagnostics. In the current study, two commercial PRRSV ELISA kits (Bionote PRRSV Antibody ELISA and IDEXX 3XR PRRS Antibody ELISA) have been compared using sera collected from 19 swine farms in various stages of PRRSV infection confirmed by professional diagnostic centers. Thus 130 sera collected from 5 different farms with active PRRSV infection, 130 sera from 6 different farms with PRRS-stabilized status, and 140 sera from 8 different farms with PRRS-free status were evaluated to determine the correlation of test results between those ELISA kits. Both ELISA kits showed a good correlation [PRRSV-positive farms ($R^2$=0.6375) and stabilized farms ($R^2$=0.8928)] in sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio va lues. Among the 140 sera from negative farms, one sample was falsely positive by either of the ELISA kits. In conclusion, both of the ELISA kits showed a good correlation when applied on field samples collected from farms at various stages of PRRSV infection. Bionote ELISA or IDEXX ELISA gave a false positive result on 1 out of 140 negative samples so their specificity was calculated as 99.3%. Therefore, Bionote ELISA would be a good complementary and alternative method for IDEXX ELISA kit, and vice versa.