• 대한수의학회지
• /
• 제37권2호
• /
• pp.349-358
• /
• 1997

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis is the etiologic agent of Johne's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel syndrome in ruminants. The attempts to control or eradicate the disease were severely hampered by the inadequacies of present diagnostic methods. The first purpose of this study was to detect Johne's disease out of 577 cows in the province of Kyunggi, Chungchong, Gangweon and the second purpose was to compare the results of non-absorbed ELISA, absorbed ELISA, PCR, and conventional culture methods. The third purpose was to increase diagnostic specificity, accuracy and rapidity. When non-absorbed ELISA test was conducted with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis antigen, the prevalence of positive was 10.9%. To increase diagnostic specificity, absorbed ELISA test with Mycobacterium phlei was used. In this test, the positive prevalence was 1.7%. For the specific detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, PCR was applied to bacterial culture obtained from fecal samples of cattle. The DNA sequences derived from IS900 were used to prepare DNA primers for detection and identification of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis by PCR. PCR for M paratuberculosis isolated from fecal cultures amplified specific target DNA. PCR was much more rapid than that obtained by conventional culture technique in diagnosis of Johne's disease.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• 제45권3호
• /
• pp.135-142
• /
• 2018

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fixed early gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol compared to a conventional midfollicular GnRH antagonist protocol and a long GnRH agonist protocol for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Randomized patients in all three groups (early antagonist, n = 14; conventional antagonist, n = 11; long agonist, n = 11) received 21 days of oral contraceptive pill treatment prior to stimulation. The GnRH antagonist was initiated on the 1st day of stimulation in the early antagonist group and on the 6th day in the conventional antagonist group. The GnRH agonist was initiated on the 18th day of the preceding cycle. The primary endpoint was the number of oocytes retrieved, and the secondary endpoints included the rate of moderate-to-severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and the clinical pregnancy rate. Results: The median total number of oocytes was similar among the three groups (early, 16; conventional, 12; agonist, 19; p= 0.111). The early GnRH antagonist protocol showed statistically non-significant associations with a higher clinical pregnancy rate (early, 50.0%; conventional, 11.1%; agonist, 22.2%; p= 0.180) and lower incidence of moderate-to-severe OHSS (early, 7.7%; conventional, 18.2%; agonist, 27.3%; p= 0.463), especially among subjects at high risk for OHSS (early, 12.5%; conventional, 40.0%; agonist, 50.0%; p= 0.324). Conclusion: In PCOS patients undergoing IVF, early administration of a GnRH antagonist may possibly lead to benefits due to a reduced incidence of moderate-to-severe OHSS in high-risk subjects with a better clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer. Further studies with more subjects are required.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권24호
• /
• pp.10933-10935
• /
• 2015

Background: Many scientists have reported Candida species to be of great concern because of the high frequency that they colonize and infect human hosts, particularly cancer patients. Moreover, in the last decades Candida species have developed resistance to many antifungal agents. Based on this, we aimed to identify and determine the prevalence of Candida spp from blood culture bottles among cancer patients and their antifungal resistance pattern. Materials and Methods: From the blood culture bottles isolation and identification of the Candida spp were performed by conventional microbiological techniques. The in vitro antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates was determined by CLSI guidelines. Genomic DNA was isolated and amplified. Each gene was separated by agar gel electrophoresis. Results: Identification of Candida spp was based on the presence of yeast cells in direct examination, culture and DNA extraction. Of the 68 blood samples collected during the study period (April 2013 to October 2013), five (7.35%) were positive for the presence of Candida spp, 2 (40%) of which were identified as Candida albicans and 3 (60%) were Candida non-albicans. Conclusions: High resistance to amphotricin B was observed among all the Candida non-albicans isolates. Regular investigations into antifungal resistance will help us to get an updated knowledge about their antibiotic resistance pattern which may help the physician in selecting the antibiotics for empirical therapy.

• 셀메드
• /
• 제5권3호
• /
• pp.20.1-20.4
• /
• 2015

Ayurveda is often criticized for having empirical and non-evidence based approach to treat the patients. At the same time, modern medicine is also being criticized for having a non-holistic, reductionist and mechanistic approach of treating the patients which do not help in many real clinical situations. An open minded deduction of treatment approaches in both of these systems for a common patient however makes us to rethink that ideally both systems are similar with a common objective of offering a cure although in a manner which is better understood through their own methods of learning. The differences therefore, are more superficial rather than being deeply rooted in the understanding. A more tolerant viewpoint towards the competitive medical systems may therefore be a better approach to offer optimal health care to our people through a genuine amalgamation of these two health care sciences through an integrated approach. Once this tolerance is developed, it will give us an opportunity to think for a focused selection of type of health care depending upon the type of the disease and strength of the particular system in that area.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• 제38권4호
• /
• pp.366-370
• /
• 2021

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become the main drugs for programmed cell death receptor-1 or ligand-1 expressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) combined with conventional chemotherapy. ICIs are generally more tolerable than cytotoxic chemotherapies in terms of toxicity, and ICI-related adverse events are mild and manageable. However, these drugs may lead to unexpected severe adverse events such as immune-related hematologic toxicities, which could be life-threatening. Here, a rare case of a pembrolizumab-related adverse event in a patient with NSCLC who showed early-onset hemolytic anemia and recovered by high-dose steroid and a series of plasma exchanges is reported.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• 제5권1호
• /
• pp.16-20
• /
• 2003

Background: Mobile phone has become a very popular device used in everyday our lives. However, the possible hazard to human body such as brain tumor has been proposed intermittently. This unwanted possibility was calmed down due to the absence of definite evidence of hazard. This study was performed to see the effect of mobile phone use on the brain temperature. Methods: In 20 volunteers, we performed 4 steps of temperature measuring procedure. Four steps are pre-use (S1, basal state), wire-phone (S2, conventional telephone), PCS phone (S3, using 1,750~1,900 MHz), cellular phone (S4, using 820 MHz) states. Brain temperatures were measured by radiothermometer at 10 sites (5 sites in each hemisphere) of the brain after 5minutes of telecommunication through the phones. The final data were compared using paired t-test. Results: In PCS phone user group (Average; $35.73708^{\circ}C$), brain temperature decreased (with statistical significance, p<0.05), compared to those of non-user group (Average; $35.9527^{\circ}C$) or conventional wire phone user group. In cellular phone user group (Average; $35.82155^{\circ}C$), brain temperature decreased slightly (without statistical significance, p>0.05) compared to those of non-user group (Average; $35.9527^{\circ}C$) or conventional wire phone user group (Average; $35.922^{\circ}C$). The temperature change was not limited to the mobile phone applied side but on both hemisphere of the brain. Conclusion: In conclusion, mobile phone (especially PCS phone) decreased brain temperature in both hemispheres without side-to-side temperature difference. In addition, this study suggests possibility of radiothermometer application to the study of electromagnetic wave effect and protection method research in the future.

• 한국멀티미디어학회논문지
• /
• 제20권9호
• /
• pp.1491-1501
• /
• 2017

In this paper, we propose a method to measure respiration rate by dividing the respiration related region in depth image using level set method. In the conventional method, the respiration related region was separated using the pre-defined region designated by the user. We separate the respiration related region using level set method combining shape prior knowledge. Median filter and clipping are performed as a preprocessing method for noise reduction in the depth image. As a feasibility test, respiration activity was recorded using depth camera in various environments with arm movements or body movements during breathing. Respiration activity was also measured simultaneously using a chest belt to verify the accuracy of calculated respiration rate. Experimental results show that our proposed method shows good performance for respiration rate estimation in various situation compared with the conventional method.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• 제23권1호
• /
• pp.52-59
• /
• 2022

Objective: To investigate whether the diagnostic performance of CT angiography (CTA) could be improved by modifying the conventional criterion (anastomosis site abnormality) to diagnose hepatic artery occlusion (HAO) after liver transplantation (LT) in suspected patients with Doppler ultrasound (US) abnormalities. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirty-four adult LT recipients (88 males and 46 females; mean age, 52.7 years) with suspected HAO on Doppler US (40 HAO and 94 non-HAO according to the reference standards) were included. We evaluated 1) abnormalities in the HA anastomosis, categorized as a cutoff, ≥ 50% stenosis at the anastomotic site, or diffuse stenosis at both graft and recipient sides around the anastomosis, and 2) abnormalities in the distal run-off, including invisibility or irregular, faint, and discontinuous enhancement. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of the conventional (considering anastomosis site abnormalities alone) and modified CTA criteria (abnormalities in both the anastomosis site and distal run-off) for the diagnosis of HAO were calculated and compared using the McNemar test. Results: By using the conventional criterion to diagnose HAO, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 100% (40/40), 74.5% (70/94), 62.5% (40/64), 100% (70/70), and 82.1% (110/134), respectively. The modified criterion for diagnosing HAO showed significantly increased specificity (93.6%, 88/94) and accuracy (93.3%, 125/134) compared to that with the conventional criterion (p = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively), although the sensitivity (92.5%, 37/40) decreased slightly without statistical significance (p = 0.250). Conclusion: The modified criterion considering abnormalities in both the anastomosis site and distal run-off improved the diagnostic performance of CTA for HAO in suspected patients with Doppler US abnormalities, particularly by increasing the specificity.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제42권1호
• /
• pp.87-95
• /
• 2019

Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) is an autonomous retrotransposon, which is capable of inserting into a new region of genome. Previous studies have reported that these elements lead to genomic variations and altered functions by affecting gene expression and genetic networks. Mounting evidence strongly indicates that genetic diseases or various cancers can occur as a result of retrotransposition events that involve L1s. Therefore, the development of methodologies to study the structural variations and interpersonal insertion polymorphisms by L1 element-associated changes in an individual genome is invaluable. In this study, we applied a systematic approach to identify human-specific L1s (i.e., L1Hs) through the bioinformatics analysis of high-throughput next-generation sequencing data. We identified 525 candidates that could be inferred to carry non-reference L1Hs in a Korean individual genome (KPGP9). Among them, we randomly selected 40 candidates and validated that approximately 92.5% of non-reference L1Hs were inserted into a KPGP9 genome. In addition, unlike conventional methods, our relatively simple and expedited approach was highly reproducible in confirming the L1 insertions. Taken together, our findings strongly support that the identification of non-reference L1Hs by our novel target enrichment method demonstrates its future application to genomic variation studies on the risk of cancer and genetic disorders.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제61권1호
• /
• pp.75-80
• /
• 2018

Objective : Among the various sacropelvic fixation methods, S2 alar-iliac (S2AI) screw fixation has several advantages compared to conventional iliac wing screw. However, the placement of S2AI screw still remains a challenge. The purpose of this study was to describe a novel technique of free hand S2AI screw insertion using a K-wire and cannulated screw, and to evaluate the accuracy of the technique. Methods : S2AI screw was inserted by free hand technique in sixteen consecutive patients without any fluoroscopic guidance. The gearshift was advanced to make a pilot hole passing through the sacroiliac joint and directing the anterior inferior iliac spine. A K-wire was placed through the pilot hole. After introducing a cannulated tapper along with the K-wire, a cannulated S2AI screw was installed over the K-wire. Results : Thirty-three S2AI screws were placed in sixteen consecutive patients. Thirty-two screws were cannulated screws, and one screw was a conventional non-cannulated screw. Thirty out of 32 (93.8%) cannulated screws were accurately positioned, whereas two cannulated screws and one non-cannulated screw violated lateral cortex of the ilium. Conclusion : The technique using K-wire and cannulated screw can provide accurate placement of free hand S2AI screw.