• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.265-270
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• 1997

Purpose: Rapid diagnosis and prompt treatment remain the cornerstone of management of patients with meningitis. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) for glucose, protein, cells, and organisms is necessary for accurate diagnosis, but in many parts of the world facilities do not exist to do so. We tested CSF samples from 69 children with suspected meningitis with urinary reagent strips and analyzed the results to know the usability of urinary reagent strips in diagnosis of meningitis. Methods: 69 CSF samples obtained from children with suspected meningitis were analysed. Each sample was divided into two; one was sent to the laboratory for routine diagnostic evaluation, and the other was tested with the reagent strip(Combur10 Test M). Laboratory values of CSF glucose, protein, and leucocytes for each CSF sample were plotted against the corresponding reagent-strip category. Results: There was good agreement between the dipstick and laboratory values for CSF protein and cell count but not for glucose. Conclusion: Rapid diagnosis of meningitis could be made with three component of the Combur10 test strip. It is easy to do and would be of particular value to those working in parts of the world where no laboratory facilities exist.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2003

Purpose : $Henoch-Sch\"{o}nlein$ purpura(HSP) is a systemic vasculitis that involves multiple organs, especially the kidney, which is the most important organ in determining the prognosis of the disease. The morbidity of HSP nephritis in adults is low and there have been little research done on its clinical course so far. Therefore, we have compared the clinical course of HSP nephritis in children and adults in Korea. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed 81 cases of HSP nephritis in children younger than 15 years of age, and 25 cases of adults older than 15 years of age who were admitted to Yonsei University Medical College Severance Hospital from Jan. 1986 to May 2003. Results : The male to female ratio was 1.5 : 1 in children and 1.3 : 1 in adults. The incidence of HSP nephritis for both age groups was found to be increased during the autumn and winter. Infection was the predisposing factor in 39 cases(48.1%) of children, 16 cases(64.0%) of adults, and drugs were the predisposing factor in 8 cases(9.9%) of children and 4 cases (16.0%) of adults. All patients initially presented with microscopic hematuria. Thirteen cases (16.0%) of children and 7 cases(28.0%) of adults initially showed proteinuria of nephrotic range. Thirty four cases(42.0%) of children and 4 cases(16.0%) of adults showed normal urinalysis after treatment. Asymptomatic urinary abnormalities were found in 41 cases(50.6%) of children and 18 cases(72.0%) of adults. Complications such as nephrotic syndrome and hypertension were found in 3 cases(3.7%) of children and 2 cases(8.0%) of adults. Three children(3.7%) and 1(4.0%) adult required dialysis or renal transplantation. Follow-up renal biopsies were performed on 21 children, of whom 10 cases(47.6%) did not show any histologic change, 9 cases(42.9%) showed low grade changes, and 2 cases(9.5%) showed high grade changes. Prognosis was gloomy when proteinuria of nephrotic range and high grade of abnormal histology were present at diagnosis, and there was no significant difference between the two groups(P<0.05) Conclusion : This study showed that there was no difference in terms of the clinical features and courses between the children and adults with HSP nephritis. Proteinuria of nephrotic range and the severity of abnormal histologic changes at diagnosis were found to be associated with a bad prognosis, therefore we recommend that patients with these features require long term follow-up and management.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.309-315
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• 2011

Rice syrup meal (RSM) was enzymatically hydrolyzed using eight commercial proteases (Protamex, Neutrase, Flavourzyme, Alcalase, Protease M, Protease N, Protease A, Molsin F) for 4 hr at optimum pH and temperature. Proteolytic hydrolysates were examined in supernatant and precipitate using Lowry protein assay, semimicro Kjeldahl method and gravimetric method using weight difference before and after enzymatic hydrolysis. Although RSM contains a high amount of protein (71.2%), only a very small amount of protein was hydrolyzed. Two proteases (Protease M and Protease N) were found to be the most effective in the hydrolysis of RSM protein. In Lowry method, 57.5 and 59.0 mg protein/g RSM were hydrolyzed after Protease M and Protease N treatments, respectively. In gravimetric method, 80.0 and 85.4 mg protein/g RSM were hydrolyzed after Protease M and Protease N treatments. In Kjeldahl method, 67.43 and 70.43 mg protein/g RSM were hydrolyzed after Protamex and Protease N treatments, respectively. For synergistic effect, two or three effective commercial proteases (Protease M, Protease N and Protease A) were applied to RSM at one time. The highest hydrolysis of RSM protein was observed in both Lowry protein assay (80.3 mg protein/g RSM) and gravimetric methods (153.2 mg protein/g RSM) when three commercial proteases were applied at one time, suggesting the synergistic effect of those proteases.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used nitrogen stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of Kjeldahl processes, two reference materials (IAEA-NO-3, N-1) were analyzed repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values of IAEA-NO-3 and IAEA-N-1 were $4.7{\pm}0.2$‰ and $0.4{\pm}0.3$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated spatial patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ in effluent plumes from a waste water treatment plant in Han River, Korea. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values are enriched at downstream areas of water treatment plant suggesting that dissolved nitrogen in effluent plumes should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of Kjeldahl analytical method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the contamination source of dissolved nitrogen such as nitrate and ammonia.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2015

This research was conducted to investigate the changes in moisture retention capacities of expanded rice-hull (ERH)-based root media and their influences on the growth of mother and daughter plants in vegetative propagation of 'Seolhyang' strawberry. The proportion of water at the container capacity of ERH medium was in the range of 20 to 23%. This range was lower than the 60 to 66% of strawberry-specialized medium, the 30 to 34% of soil mother material (SMM) and the 30 to 35% of loamy sand. The moisture content of ERH was reduced to 10 to 12% at 8 hours after irrigation, and there were large variations among replications of ERH medium. Among four kinds of root media formulated to contain ERH, the medium of ERH + coir dust (CD) (55 + 45%, v/v) had 26.5 and 32.5% water contents at 20 and 40 days after irrigation to daughter plants, respectively. The m edia o f ERH + sandy loam (S L) and E RH + S MM showed similar trends i n moisture r etention. The pH and EC i n the all root media tested were in the range of 6.7 to 7.1 and 0.03 to $0.08dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, respectively. The pHs and ECs measured at 20 and 40 days after irrigation were not significantly different in each root medium. Among the root media formulated to contain ERH, the growth of daughter plants was the highest in the treatment of ERH + SL (55 + 45%, v/v). As the blending rate of coir dust was elevated in the ERH + CD media, moisture retention capacity increased gradually, but the growth of daughter plants became worse even though the medium showed higher moisture retention capacity than other root media tested. The growth of roots and aboveground tissues of daughter plants deteriorated in the root media formulated by blending ERH + perlite (PE) at various ratios. The results of this research suggest the optimum formulations of root media and management of moisture content in raising of strawberry daughter plants when ERH is a component of root media.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.366-374
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• 2012

Recently pathogenic E. coli is one of the main foodborne pathogens resulting in many patients in Korea. To understand the characteristics of pathogenic E. coli outbreaks in Korea, the epidemiological investigation reports of pathogenic E. coli outbreak in 2009 (41 reports) and in 2010 (27 reports) were collected in the web site of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reviewed and analysed in this study. The main places of the pathogenic E. coli outbreaks were food catering service area (64.8%) and restaurants (25.0%). The main type of the pathogens were EPEC (44.7%) and ETEC (34.2%). EAEC and EHEC was responsible for 10.5 and 9.2%, respectively. Eight of 68 outbreak cases were caused by more than 2 types of pathogenic E. coli which implicates the complicated contamination pathways of pathogenic E. coli. The incidence rate of pathogenic E. coli was $33.6{\pm}30.5%$ and the main symptoms were diarrhea, stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, and fever etc. The two identified food sources were identified as frozen hamburger pattie and squid-vegetable mixture. To improve the food source identification by epidemiological investigation, food poisoning notification to the agency should not be delayed, whole food items attributed the outbreak should be collected and detection method of the various pathogenic E. coli in food has to be improved. In conclusion, the characteristics between the EHEC outbreaks in the western countries and the EPEC or ETEC outbreaks in Korea needs to be distinguished to prepare food safety management plan. In addition, the development of the trace back system to find the contamination pathway with the improved detection method in food and systemic and cooperative support by the related agencies are necessary.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.466-472
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• 2012

In this study, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL), RNApolymeraseC (rpoC1), intergenic spacer (psbA-trnH), and second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) as identification markers for discrimination of P. mirifica in foods were selected. To be primer design, we obtained 719 bp, 520 bp, 348 bp, and 507 bp amplicon using universal primers from selected regions of P. mirifica. The regions of rbcL, rpoC1, and psbA-trnH were not proper for design primers because of high homology about P. mirifica, P. lobata, and B. superba. But, we had designed 4 pairs of oligonucleotide primers from ITS2 gene. Predicted amplicon from P. mirifica were obtained 137 bp and 216 bp using finally designed primers SFI12-miri-6F/SFI12-miri-7R and SFI12-miri-6F/SFI12-miri-8R, respectively. The species-specific primers distinguished P. mirifica from related species were able to apply food materials and processed foods. The developed PCR method would be applicable to food safety management for illegally distributed products in markets and internet shopping malls.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.260-267
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• 2014

To evaluate microbiological and aflatoxin safety on traditional dried persimmon, a total of 315 samples were collected from 105 farms. The collected samples were assessed on aflatoxin and microorganisms (Aerobic plate count, coliform count, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus). The the APC of sliced dried persimmon, dried persimmon, and semi dried persimmon were $3.93{\pm}0.96$, $2.12{\pm}0.93$, and $1.50{\pm}1.08{\log}\;CFU/g$, respectively. S. aureus was detected in 40.0% of sliced dried persimmon, 29.5% of dried persimmon, and 23.5% of semi dried persimmon. E. coli recovered from dried persimmon and semi dried persimmon was 6.6%, and 2.9%, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes were not detected. According to the result of aflatoxin by ELISA and UPLC, aflatoxin was not detected in any sample. These data suggested that safety management system should be introduce to the farms producing traditional dried persimmon to enhance the safety of traditional dried persimmon.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.104-108
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• 2006

Water extracts of Jehotang were evaluated for their growth-promoting effects on Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus sp., L. acidophilus, and Clostridium perfringens. Addition of Jehotang water extract to modified EG media at 0.1 mg/mL increased growths of B. longum, Lactobacillus sp., and L. acidophilus, with 1.8-fold increase in growth of L. acidophilus compared to that of control. Studies on these strains by agar diffusion method showed Lactobacillus sp. and L. acidophilus were activated by addition of Jehotang extract at 10 mg/disc. Proliferation responses of mice splenocytes and Peyer's patch cells to ConA by LPS-stimulation at 500 mg/kg B.W./day Jehotang extract were investigated in vitro. Upon treatment of 1 mg/mL Jehotang water extract to mice, proliferations of splenocytes and Peyer's patch cells increased 1.4- and 1.6-fold compared to control, respectively. In mice administered Jehotang extract, production of intestinal secretory IgA (sIgA) increased 2.4-fold compared to control. These results indicate water extract of Jehotang stimulated intestinal immune system of mice. In mice treated with Jehotang extract, production of lymphocytes was 4% lower, whereas those of granulocytes and platelets were 4% and slightly higher than control, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.549-556
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• 2017

Rivers continuously transport terrestrial organic carbon matter to the estuary and the ocean, and they play a critical role in productivity and biodiversity in the marine ecosystem as well as the global carbon cycle. The amount of terrestrial organic carbon transporting from the rivers to ocean is an essential piece of information, not only for the marine ecosystem management but also the carbon budget within catchment. However, this phenomenon is still not well understood. Most large rivers in Korea have a well-established national monitoring system of the river flow and the TOC (Total Organic Carbon) concentration from the mountain to the river mouth, which are fundamental for estimating the amount of the TOC flux. We estimated the flux of the total terrestrial organic carbon of five large rivers which flow out to the Yellow Sea, using the data of the national monitoring system (the monthly mean TOC concentration and the monthly runoff of river flow). We quantified the annual TOC flux of the five rivers, showing their results in the following order: the Han River ($18.0{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>>Geum River ($5.9{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>Yeongsan River ($2.6{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>Sumjin River ($2.0{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>>Tamjin River ($0.2{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$). The amount of the Han River, which is the highest in the Korean rivers, corresponds to be 4% of the annual total TOC flux of in the Yellow River, and moreover, to be 0.6% of Yangtze River.