• 한국표면공학회지
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.69-76
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• 2023

The effects of hairline treatment on surface blackening and thermal diffusion behaviors of Zn-Al-Mg alloy coated steel sheet were evaluated by the three-dimensional surface profiler and laser-flash technique. The metallographic observation of coating damages by hairline treatments showed that several cracks were initiated and propagated along the interface between primary Zn/eutectic phases. As the hairline processing became more severe, the crack occurrence frequency in eutectic phase of coating layer and the surface roughness increased, which had a proportional relationship with the level of blackening on the coating surface. In addition, the higher interfacial areas of the blackened coating surface, caused by the hairline process, led to an increase in thermal diffusivity and conductivity of the coated steel sheet. On the other hand, when the coating damage by hairline treatment was excessive and the steel substrate was exposed, there was little difference between the thermal diffusivity/conductivity of the untreated sample though the blackening degree was higher than that of untreated sample. This work suggests that the increase in the surface areas of the coating layer without exposure to steel substrate through hairline treatment can be one of the effective technical strategies for the development of Zn-Al-Mg alloy coated steel sheets with higher blackening level and thermal diffusivity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.871-879
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• 2024

Our group had isolated Bifidobacterium breve strain BS2-PB3 from human breast milk. In this study, we sequenced the whole genome of B. breve BS2-PB3, and with a focus on its safety profile, various probiotic characteristics (presence of antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, and mobile elements) were then determined through bioinformatic analyses. The antibiotic resistance profile of B. breve BS2-PB3 was also evaluated. The whole genome of B. breve BS2-PB3 consisted of 2,268,931 base pairs with a G-C content of 58.89% and 2,108 coding regions. The average nucleotide identity and whole-genome phylogenetic analyses supported the classification of B. breve BS2-PB3. According to our in silico assessment, B. breve BS2-PB3 possesses antioxidant and immunomodulation properties in addition to various genes related to the probiotic properties of heat, cold, and acid stress, bile tolerance, and adhesion. Antibiotic susceptibility was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion test, in which the minimum inhibitory concentrations for selected antibiotics were subsequently tested using the Epsilometer test. B. breve BS2-PB3 only exhibited selected resistance phenotypes, i.e., to mupirocin (minimum inhibitory concentration/MIC >1,024 ㎍/ml), sulfamethoxazole (MIC>1,024 ㎍/ml), and oxacillin (MIC >3 ㎍/ml). The resistance genes against those antibiotics, i.e., ileS, mupB, sul4, mecC and ramA, were detected within its genome as well. While no virulence factor was detected, four insertion sequences were identified within the genome but were located away from the identified antibiotic resistance genes. In conclusion, B. breve BS2-PB3 demonstrated a sufficient safety profile, making it a promising candidate for further development as a potential functional food.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.309-319
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• 2014

This paper mainly focuses on the conceptual design and stealth performance of the three-surface military aircraft. A three-dimensional (3-D) digital mock-up of the three-surface strike fighter with stealth feature was designed and the schemes of carrying missiles were analyzed in CATIA. Based on physical optics principle and the Method of Equivalent Currents (MEC), a numerical simulation of the RCS feature of the aircraft was carried out with RCSPlus which is a software designed by Beihang University. The paper contributes to the RCS feature analysis of the whole plane and different parts on X-band, S-band and UHF-band and a comparison of RCS feature to Su-37 and T-50 military aircraft is drawn. On X-band, the pitch angle of the incident wave was $0^{\circ}$, and the result shows: (1) Compared with Su-37 aircraft, the forward scattering RCS of the three-surface strike aircraft was reduced to 14.9%, the side scattering RCS to 9.6% and the back scattering RCS to 40.2%. (2) Compared with T-50 aircraft, the forward scattering RCS was reduced to 38.61%, and the side scattering RCS to 67.26%. This paper should be useful for researchers in conceptual design and stealth technology of the military aircraft.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.180-189
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• 2003

Purpose: To provide basic data for developing problematic drinking prevention problem through the investigation of the educational needs on drinking of primary students. Method: Subjects were 630 fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in 5 primary schools in Seoul. Data were collected from November to December 2000 by using structured questionnaire. Result: 1) Among the students under inquiry, 41.2％ answered the had educational need about drinking. Educational need about drinking was significantly higher in the students with higher mothers educational level than those of with lower ones. 2) With regard to the appropriate class in providing education, 37.3％ selected normal class education. 47.3％ of the respondents said experiments would be the most effective education method. 61.8％ of the students picked school nurses as the most appropriate person in carrying out the education. As for the most effective media for education, 40.3％ chose video/television. The most concerning topic was academic achievement with 51.9％ of the surveyed. As for the rate of preference in methods of drinking prevention education, Significant differences were shown in the class, teaching method, instructor, media, memory of education and concerning topic according to the gender. Conclusion: The results of the finding suggest that the various programs of drinking prevention education for the primary students should be developed with consider the difference of preference by the grade and the gender.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.763-771
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• 2020

Objectives: Erigeron bonariensis is a type of Erigeron found throughout the tropical and subtropical areas as one of the perennial plants or pioneer plants. It is known to show detoxifying, antipyretic, and anticancer effects for various cancers. However, there are no reports on the anticancer effect of E. bonariensis on oral cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the methanol extract of Erigeron bonariensis (MEEB) on the inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) cell lines, including the MC3 and YD15 oral cancer cells. Methods: MC3 Cells were treated by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or methanol extracts of 20 various natural products 20 ㎍/mL for 48 hours and cell viability were analyzed as Trypan blue exclusion assay. The effects of MEEB treatment on the cell viability of MC3 and YD15 cells, for 48 h, were analyzed by Trypan blue exclusion assay. The anticancer efficacy and apoptosis of oral cancer cell lines were analyzed by western blot analysis. The statistical significance of differences between groups was analyzed by Student's two-tailed t-test. A value of P<0.05 compared to the vehicle control was considered statistically significant. Results: Among 20 different naturally derived products, MEEB significantly inhibited cell viability and increased cleaved poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP) protein in the MC3 and YD15 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusions: These results suggest that MEEB can be used as a natural anticancer drug for the treatment of human oral cancer.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.758-771
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• 2020

This study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from 4,264 retail meat samples including beef, pork, and chicken in Korea between 2013 and 2018. A broth microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for S. aureus. Molecular typing by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), was performed on mecA-positive S. aureus strain. S. aureus was isolated at a rate of 18.2% (777/4,264), of which MRSA comprised 0.7% (29 strains). MLST analysis showed that 11 out of the 29 MRSA isolates were predominantly sequence type (ST) 398 (37.9%). In addition, ST72, ST692, ST188, ST9, and ST630 were identified in the MRSA isolates. The spa typing results were classified into 11 types and showed a high correlation with MLST. The antimicrobial resistance assays revealed that MRSA showed 100% resistance to cefoxitin and penicillin. In addition, resistance to tetracycline (62.1%), clindamycin (55.2%), and erythromycin (55.2%) was relatively high; 27 of the 29 MRSA isolates exhibited multidrug resistance. PFGE analysis of the 18 strains excluding the 11 ST398 strains exhibited a maximum of 100% homology and a minimum of 64.0% homology. Among these, three pairs of isolates showed 100% homology in PFGE; these results were consistent with the MLST and spa typing results. Identification of MRSA at the final consumption stage has potential risks, suggesting that continuous monitoring of retail meat products is required.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권9호
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• pp.1460-1469
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• 2019

The extensive distribution of multidrug-resistant (MDR) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a threat to healthcare worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the MDR and molecular patterns of MRSA isolates in children admitted to the two biggest tertiary care pediatric hospitals in northern and southern Vietnam. A total of 168 MRSA strains were collected to determine antibiotic susceptibility by minimum inhibitory concentration tests. Antibiotic-resistant genes, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and multilocus sequence typing were used for the molecular characterization of MRSA. Among the total strains, the MDR rate (51.8%) was significantly higher in the northern hospital than in the southern hospital (73% vs. 39%, p < 0.0001). The MDR-MRSA with the highest rates were "ciprofloxacin-erythromycin-gentamicintetracyclines" (35.6%), followed by "erythromycin-tetracycline-chloramphenicol" (24.1%), and "ciprofloxacin-erythromycin-gentamicin" (19.5%), showing an accumulative total of 79.3%. The most susceptible antibiotics were rifampicin (100%) and vancomycin (100%), followed by doxycycline (94.0%), meropenem (78.0%), and cefotaxime (75.0%). The SCCmecII strains showed greater resistance to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, meropenem and cephalosporins compared with the other strains. The SCCmecII strains exhibited the highest rate in the tested genes (aacA/aphD: 55.2%, ermA/B/C: 89.7%, and tetK/M: 82.8%). ST5-SCCmecII was the predominant clone in the northern hospital, whereas SCCmecIVa was more pronounced in the southern hospital. In conclusion, our results raised concerns about the predominant MDR-MRSA strains in the pediatric hospitals in Vietnam. The north-south difference in the antibiotic resistance patterns and genetic structure of MRSA suggests different MRSA origins and various uses of antimicrobial agents between the two regions.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.734-742
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• 2021

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the occurrence and species of coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) in retail pork meat samples collected during nationwide monitoring. The staphylococcal isolates were characterized for antimicrobial and zinc chloride resistance and enterotoxigenic potential. Methods: A total of 260 pre-packaged pork meat samples were collected from 35 retail markets in 8 provinces in Korea for isolation of staphylococci. Antimicrobial and zinc chloride resistance phenotypes, and genes associated with the resistance phenotypes were determined on the isolates. Furthermore, the presence and distribution of 19 staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes and enterotoxin-like genes among the pork-associated staphylococci were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based assays using the specific primer sets. Results: A total of 29 staphylococcal strains (29/260, 11.1%) were isolated from samples of retail pork meat, 24 (83%) of which were CoNS. The four CoNS species identified were S. saprophyticus (n = 16, 55%), S. sciuri (n = 3, 10%), S. warneri (n = 3, 10%), and S. epidermidis (n = 2, 7%). Among the 29 isolates, four methicillin-resistant CoNS (MR-CoNS; three S. sciuri and one S. epidermidis) and one methicillin-resistant CoPS (MR-CoPS; one S. aureus) were identified. In addition, a relatively high level of tetracycline (TET) resistance (52%) was confirmed in CoNS, along with a predominant distribution of tet(K). The most prevalent SEs were sep (45%), and sen (28%), which were carried by 81% of S. saprophyticus. Conclusion: These findings suggest that CoNS, especially S. saprophyticus strains, in raw pork meat could be a potential risk factor for staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP), and therefore, requires further investigation to elucidate the role of SEls in SFP and virulence of the pathogen. Our results also suggest that CoNS from raw pork meat may act as a source for transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes such as staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec and tet(K).

• 한국동물위생학회지
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.171-180
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• 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors in staphylococci isolated from canine otitis externa. A total 295 causative microorganisms were isolated. The most common isolated species were Staphylococcus (S) pseudintermedius (94 isolates) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (60 isolates), S. schleiferi (25 isolates), Escherichia coli (23 isolates) and Proteus mirabilis (20 isolates). Staphylococci isolates were showed high resistance to penicillin (78.6%), erythromycin (55.9%), tetracycline (52.4%), clindamycin (51.7%) and ciprofloxacin (42.8%). Of the 145 staphylococci isolates, 49 (33.8%) methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) were observed, distributed among S. pseudintermedius (n=34), S. schleiferi (n=6), S. epidermis (n=4), S. hominis (n=2), S. aureus, S. caprae and S. saprophyticus (n=1, respectively). Forty-three (87.8%) of 49 MRS and 10 (10.4%) of 96 methicillin-susceptibility staphylococci harbored mecA gene. About 80% of MRS were multidrug-resistant with resistance to at least one antibiotic in three or more antibiotic classes. Resistance genes blaZ (93/114, 81.5%), ermB (35/81, 43.2%), ermC (3/81, 3.7%), aacA-aphD (50/54, 92.5%), tetM (69/76, 90.7%) and tetK (6/76, 7.8%) were detected among resistant isolates. Virulence factors genes lukF and lukS were found in 100%(145/145) and 43.4%(63/145), respectively. Genes encoding ermA, eta, etb and tsst were not detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which investigated for the presence of genes encoding antimicrobial resistance and staphylococcal toxins in staphylococci isolated from canine otitis externa. A continuous monitoring and surveillance program to prevent antimicrobial resistance in companion animals is demanded.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.148-160
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• 2019

목적: 본 연구에서는 신생아실과 신생아 중환자실에서 발생한 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 유행에서 환자와 보균자에서 분리된 MRSA의 분자역학적 연관성을 조사하여 유행의 감염원과 전파경로를 파악하고자 하였다. 방법: MRSA 유행기간인 2017년 8월부터 9월까지 피부감염 및 패혈증 환자들과 보균자로부터 분리된 MRSA 균주를 대상으로 유전형 및 병원성 인자를 분석하고 항생제 감수성 결과를 수집하였다. 결과: 연구기간 동안 신생아실(n=27)과 신생아 중환자실(n=14)에 총 41명의 신생아들이 입원하였다. 그 중, 7명(피부감염[n=6], 패혈증[n=1])에서 MRSA 감염이 확진되었고, 보균자 4명이 발견되었다. 신생아와 접촉이 있는 의료진 32명 중 3명이 MRSA를 비강에 보균하였다. 피부감염 유행 원인 균주는 Staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) type II, sequence type (ST) 89, spa type t375였고, 뮤피로신 저농도 내성을 포함하여 항생제 다제내성을 보였다. 패혈증을 일으킨 균주는 SCCmec type IVa, ST 72, 새로운 spa type인 t17879였다. 신생아 4명에게 집락된 MRSA 균주들은 다양하였으나 SCCmec type IVa, ST 72, spa type t664가 의료진과 신생아 2명에서 공통적으로 분리되었다. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) toxin 유전자가 신생아에게 집락된 모든 균주에서 발견되었다. 결론: 피부감염 유행을 일으킨 MRSA 균주는 항생제 다제내성을 보이는 균주였다. 신생아 MRSA 보균자에게서 분리된 균주는 모두 PVL 독소 유전자를 보유하였다. 유행기간 동안 다양한 MRSA 균주가 신생아들에게서 분리되기 때문에, 효과적인 감염 관리 및 추가 환자발생의 차단을 위하여 분자역학조사를 통하여 원인균을 확인하고 전파경로를 파악하는 것이 중요하다.