• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2016

Purpose The importance of quality control by the error to a minimum, which for the purpose of enhancing the reliability of the examination is not be emphasized excess. Currently, most nuclear medicine laboratory are conducting the internal and external quality control, and they are applying the Levey-Jennings or Westgard Multi-Rules by using the commercialized quality control materials. The reliability of the nuclear medicine blood test which affects the diagnosis of patients and the treatment policy is being secured through this quality control activity. Therefore, researchers will evaluate the utility of the statistic quality control using the population distribution of the nuclear medicine blood test conducted targeting the checkup examinees by the additional technique of the reliability improvement. Materials and Methods A statistic analysis was performed about 12 items of the nuclear medicine blood test targeting 41,341 peoples who used the health screening and promotion center in Asan Medical Center from January, 2014 to December, 2014. The results of 12 items of the nuclear medicine blood test was divided into the monthly percentage of three groups: within reference values, over reference, and under reference to analyze the average value of the population distribution, standard deviation, and standard deviation index (SDI). Results The standard deviation of the population distribution mostly showed a result within ${\pm}2SD$ in all groups. However, When the standard deviation of the population distribution represented a result over ${\pm}2SD$, it was confirmed SDI was showing a result of SDI > -2 or SDI > 2. As a result of analyzing the population distribution of 12 items(AFP, CEA, CA19-9, CA125, PSA, TSH, FT4, Anti-Tg-Ab, Anti-TPO-Ab, Calcitonin, 25-OH-VitD3, Insulin) of the nuclear medicine blood part basic test, when SDI of the monthly percentage which deviated from the reference values was over ${\pm}2.0$, CA19-9 September was 2.2, Anti-Tg-Ab may was 2.2, Insulin January was 2.3, Insulin March was 2.4. It was confirmed these cases were attributed to the abnormality of the test reagent (maximum combination rate of isotope reagent declined) and the decline of the test response time. Conclusion The population distribution includes the entire attribute which becomes the study object. It is expected the statistic quality management using the population distribution which was conducted targeting the checkup examinees by dividing into three groups: within reference values, over reference, and under reference by means of this characteristics will be able to play a role of complementing the internal quality control program which is being carried out in the laboratory.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2014

Background: Various medical emergency situations can occur during dental practices. Cardiac arrest is known to comprise approximately 1% of emergency situation. Thus, it is necessary for dentists to be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to increase the chance of saving patient's life in emergency situation. In this paper, we conducted a survey study to evaluate to what extent dentists actually understood CPR practice and if they had experience in handling emergency situations in practice. Method: The survey was done for members of the Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology (KDSA), who had great interest in CPR and for whom survey-by-mail was convenient. We had selected 472 members of the KDSA with a dental license and whose office address and contact information were appropriate, and sent them a survey questionnaire by mail asking about the degree of their CPR understanding and if they had experience of handling emergency questions before. Statistical analyses -frequency analysis, chi-square test, ANOVA, and so on- were performed by use of IBM SPSS Statistics 19 for each question. Result: Among 472 people, 181 responded (38.4% response rate). Among the respondents were 134 male and 47 female dentists. Their average age was $40.4{\pm}8.4$. In terms of practice type, there were 123 private practitioners (68.0%), 20 professors (11.0%), 16 dentists-in-service (8.8%), 13 residents (specialist training) (7.2%) and 9 military doctors (5%). There were 125 dentists (69.1%) who were specialists or receiving training to be specialist, most of whom were oral surgeon (57, 31.5%) and pediatric dentists (56, 30.9%). There were 153 people (85.0%) who received CPR training before, and 65 of them (35.9%) were receiving regular training. When asked about the ratio of chest pressure vs mouth-to-mouth respiration when conducting CPR, 107 people (59.1%) answered 30:2. However, only 27.1% of them answered correctly for a question regarding CPR stages, C(Circulation)- A(Airway)- B(Breathing)- D(Defibrillation), which was defined in revised 2010 CPR practice guideline. Dentists who had experience of handling emergency situations in their practice were 119 (65.6%). The kinds of emergency situations they experienced were syncope (68, 37.6%), allergic reactions to local anesthetic (44, 24.3%), hyperventilation (43, 23.8%), seizure (25, 13.8%), hypoglycemia (15, 8.3%), breathing difficulty (14, 7.8%), cardiac arrest (11, 6.1%), airway obstruction (6, 3.3%), intake of foreign material and angina pectoris (4, 2.2%), in order of frequency. Most respondents answered that they handled the situation appropriately under the given emergency situation. In terms of emergency equipment they had blood pressure device (70.2%), pulse oximetry (69.6%), Bag-Valve-Mask (56.9%), emergency medicine (41.4%), intubation kit (29.8%), automated external defibrillator (23.2%), suction kit (19.3%) and 12 people (6.6%) did not have any equipment. In terms of confidence in handling emergency situation, with 1-10 point scale, their response was $4.86{\pm}2.41$ points. The average point of those who received regular training was $5.92{\pm}2.20$, while those who did not was $4.29{\pm}2.29$ points (P<0.001) Conclusion: The result showed they had good knowledge of CPR but the information they had was not up-to-date. Also, they were frequently exposed to the risk of emergency situation during their dental practice but the level of confidence in handling the emergency situation was intermediate. Therefore, regular training of CPR to prepare them for handling emergency situation is deemed necessary.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.338-345
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• 2002

Background : Coal workers' pneumoconiosis(CWP) is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from the chronic inhalation of coal dust. Various cytokines and growth factors secreted from macrophages and monocytes play a key role in the pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis. The platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB and the insulin-like growth factor(IGF)-1 secreated from the macrophages and monocytes are believed to stimulate the accumulation of mesenchymal cells and fibrosis of the lower respiratory tract that is observed in fibrotic lung disease. The serum concentraion of PDGF-BB and IGF-1 in 30 CWP patients and 10 healthy controls were measured in order to determine if PDGF-BB and IGF-1 can be used as sensitive biomarkers in CWP. Method : Serum was collected from 30 patients with CWP(13 with simple CWP and 17 with complicated CWP) and 10 healthy controls. The serum concentrations of PDGF-BB and IGF-1 were measured using ELISA (R&D system, Minneapolis, MN). Results : The serum PDGF-BB concentration in patients with complicated CWP($10083.76{\pm}639.07pg/mL$) was significantly higher than in the patients with simple CWP ($8493.88{\pm}848.51pg/mL$) and the healthy controls ($3726.17{\pm}292.20pg/mL$) (p<0.05). Compared to the healthy controls ($413.40{\pm}1.94ng/mL$), there was no significant difference in the serum IGF-1 concentration in patients with simple ($366.77{\pm}183.67ng/mL$) and complicated CWP ($403.18{\pm}15.39ng/mL$) (p>0.05). Conclusion : These results show the important role of the PDGF-BB mediated pathways in the pathogenesis of CWP. These data suggests that the PDGF-BB serum concentration is a useful biomarkers of the fibrotic extent in CWP patients.

• 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.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2014

Purpose: Several studies have proven that EGCG, the primary green tea catechin, and glucosamine-6-phosphate (PGlc) reduce triglyceride contents in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the combination effect of EGCG and PGlc on decline of accumulated fat in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methods: EGCG and PGlc were administered for 6 day for differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cell viability was measured using the CCK assay kit. In addition, TG accumulation in culture 3T3-L1 adipocytes was investigated by Oil Red O staining. We examined the expres-sion level of several genes and proteins associated with adipogenesis and lipolysis using real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. A flow cytometer Calibar was used to assess the effect of EGCG and PGluco on cell-cycle progression of differentiating 3T3-L1 cells. Results: Intracelluar lipid accumulation was significantly decreased by combination treatment with EGCG $60{\mu}M$ and PGlc $200{\mu}g/m$ compared with control and EGCG treatment alone. In addition, use of combination treatment resulted in directly decreased expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$, $C/EBP{\alpha}$, and SREBP1. In addition, it inhibited adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis through downstream regulation of adipogenic target genes such as FAS, ACSL1, and LPL, and the inhibitory action of EGCG and PGlc was found to inhibit the mitotic clonal expansion (MCE) process as evidenced by impaired cell cycle entry into S phase and the S to G2/M phase transition of confluent cells and levels of cell cycle regulating proteins such as cyclin A and CDK2. Conclusion: Combination treatment of EGCG and PGlc inhibited adipocyte differentiation through decreased expression of genes related to adipogenesis and adipogenic and cell cycle arrest in early stage of adipocyte differentiation.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.174-181
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• 2009

The consumption of "ready-to-eat" agricultural products is recently increasing and the safety of these agricultural products is forefront of public concerns. The 120 samples of paprikas, strawberries and tomatoes, which are the representative exported agricultural products, were purchased at the department stores and discount stores in Daejeon. And we determined the microbiological and parasitological contamination level of these agricultural products using culture media, multiplex PCR, commercial bacterial detection kit and microscopy, and also evaluated the decontamination method. Mean counts of total aerobic bacteria from these agricultural products ranged from $1.3{\times}10^4$ CFU/g to $1.8{\times}10^5$ CFU/g, and mean counts of coliforms ranged from $1.4{\times}10^3$ CFU/g to $9.6{\times}10^3$ CFU/g. There was no significant difference in the level of bacterial contamination between the agricultural products from department stores and the ones from discount stores. Strawberry showed the highest contamination level for the bacteria and we also found the unidentified parasite eggs. Enterobacter cloacae was the most frequently isolated bacteria strain, but no food poisoning pathogenic bacteria except Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the products by multiplex PCR. Compared to unwashed products, tab water-washed ones showed 80% decrease of the counts of total aerobic bacteria on the agricultural products, and the rates decreased more by incorporating detergent or ultrasonic wave treatment. We concluded that the biological contamination levels among paprikas, strawberries and tomatoes were the highest in strawberries, but there were not significant difference according to distribution systems.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.475-482
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• 2020

Background: Active natural ingredients, especially small molecules, have recently received wide attention as modifiers used to treat neurodegenerative disease by promoting neurogenic regeneration of neural stem cell (NSC) in situ. 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD), one of the bioactive ingredients in ginseng, possesses neuroprotective properties. However, the effect of PPD on NSC proliferation and differentiation and its mechanism of action are incompletely understood. Methods: In this study, we investigated the impact of PPD on NSC proliferation and neuronal lineage differentiation through activation of the Wnt/glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β/β-catenin pathway. NSC migration and proliferation were investigated by neurosphere assay, Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and EdU assay. NSC differentiation was analyzed by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Involvement of the Wnt/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway was examined by molecular simulation and Western blot and verified using gene transfection. Results: PPD significantly promoted neural migration and induced a significant increase in NSC proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a remarkable increase in anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 expression and decrease in nestin protein expression were induced by PPD. During the differentiation process, PPD targeted and stimulated the phosphorylation of GSK-3β at Ser9 and the active forms of β-catenin, resulting in activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. Transfection of NSCs with a constitutively active GSK-3β mutant at S9A significantly hampered the proliferation and neural differentiation mediated by PPD. Conclusion: PPD promotes NSC proliferation and neural differentiation in vitro via activation of the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway by targeting GSK-3β, potentially having great significance for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.209-215
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• 2004

Objective: Embryonic stem (ES) cells could be differentiated into the specific cell types by alternation of culture condition and modification of gene expression. This study was performed to evaluate the differentiation protocol for mouse and human ES cells to insulin secreting cells. Methods: Undifferentiated mouse (JH-I) and human (Miz-hESI) ES cells were cultured on STO feeder layer, and embryoid bodies (EBs) were formed by suspension culture. For the differentiation, EBs were cultured by sequential system with three stage protocol. The differentiating ES cells were collected and marker gene expressions were analyzed by seIni-quantitative RT-PCR in each stage. Amount of secreted insulin levels in culture media of human ES cells were measured by human insulin specific RIA kit. Results: During the differentiation process of human ES cells, GATA-4, a-fetoprotein, glucose transporter-2 and Ngn-3 expression were increased whereas OctA was decreased progressively. Insulin and albuInin mRNAs were expressed from stage IT in mouse ES cells and from stage III in human ES cells. We detected 3.0~7.9 IlU/rnl secretion of insulin from differentiated human ES cells by in vitro culture for 36 days. Conclusion: The sequential culture system could induce the differentiation of mouse and human ES cells into insulin secreting cells. This is the fIrst report of differentiation of human ES cells into insulin secreting cells by in vitro culture with serum and insulin free medium.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.2082-2087
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• 2013

The present study was performed to quantitatively analyze eleutherosides (B and E) and ${\beta}$-glucan in different plant parts of three cultivars (Chungnam, Gangwon, and Jeju) of Acanthopanax senticosus and Acanthopanax koreanum using HPLC and a commercial enzyme kit. Our results showed high linearity in the calibration curves as the coefficients of correlation ($R^2$) were 0.998 (eleutheroside B) and 0.999 (eleutheroside E), respectively. Eleutheroside B and E were found in stem extracts of A. koreanum cultivated in Jeju (1,122 ${\mu}g/g$, eleutheroside B) and A. senticosus cultivated in Chungnam (2,536 ${\mu}g/g$, eleutheroside E), respectively. However, eleutheroside B was not detected in any part of A. senticosus cultivated in Chungnam. For ${\beta}$-glucan contents, stems of A. senticosus and A. koreanum showed higher than other parts. Furthermore, the ${\beta}$-glucan content in stems of A. koreanum cultivated in Gangwon was significantly higher than in those of other cultivars. These results show that the contents of eleutheroside B, E, and ${\beta}$-glucan were higher in stem extracts of A. senticosus and A. koreanum than other parts. Moreover, our results suggest that the contents of eleutheroside B, E, and ${\beta}$-glucan in A. senticosus and A. koreanum are influenced by cultivation area and the selected part.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 1999

Ko, Lim found some differences in the concentrations of bone resorptive cytokines, especially IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$ in periapical lesions and inflamed pulps. And they suppose that these differences may be due to the type of cells which produce each cytokine. The purpose of this study was to analyze the human odontogenic cysts & cystic fluid for their contents of IL-$1{\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$ and TNF-$1{\alpha}$ and to compare the concentrations of each cytokine according to the cytokine producing cells. The cystic tissues used in this experiment, were obtained from periapical surgery or cyst enucleation surgery. Cystic fluid was obtained from root canal during routine endodontic therapy(n=5). Cystic tissues were subdivided into two groups, inflammatory radicular cyst group(n=15) and developmental odontogenic keratocyst group(n=3). Normal periapical tissues of extracted third molar(n=5) were also obtained to be used as control group. Each specimen was incubated in 0.5ml homogenizing buffer (0.1mol/L potassium chloride, 0.02mol/L TRIS;pH=7.6) for two hours and then homogenized with glass homogenizer. Each specimen was centrifuged in a microcentrifuge for 3 minutes, and supernatants were extracted. The concentrations of cytokines were measured with R&D ELISA kit. The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test for the differences among the diseases and t test for the correlations among each cytokine. Following results were obtained ; 1. For IL-$1{\alpha}$ and IL-$1{\beta}$, all experimental groups showed significantly higher concentrations of each cytokine than the control group (p<0.05). 2. In radicular cysts, the concentrations of IL-$1{\alpha}$ were higher than IL-$1{\beta}$, but not stastically significant (p>0.05). In odontogenic keratocysts, the concentrations of IL-$1{\alpha}$ were significantly higher than IL-$1{\beta}$ (p<0.05). In cystic fluid, the concentration of IL-$1{\beta}$ was significantly higher than IL-$1{\alpha}$ (p<0.05). 3. Between odontogenic keratocysts and radicular cysts, the concentrations of IL-$1{\alpha}$ were significantly higher in odontogenic keratocysts than in radicular cysts (p<0.05). 4. For TNF-${\alpha}$, only cystic fluid group showed significantly higher concentrations than the control group (p<0.05).