• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제52권5호
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• pp.487-491
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• 2014

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan that is distributed worldwide. Recently, several tests for avidity of Toxoplasma IgG antibodies have been introduced to help discriminate between recently acquired and distant infections. The study was conducted in Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, India from February 2011 to September 2012. Serum specimens were subjected to Toxoplasma IgM ELISA and IgG avidity ELISA test. Out of 48 patients with abortions, 17 (35.4%) were positive for IgM ELISA, and 8 (16.6%) had low IgG avidity antibodies. Out of 48 patients with other obstetric problems, 23 (47.9%) were positive for IgM ELISA, and 17 (35.4%) had low IgG avidity antibodies. Combining both groups on avidity test, only 25 of 40 (62.5 %) IgM-positive women had low-avidity IgG antibodies suggesting a recent T. gondii infection in these women. More importantly, 15 (37.5%) of the IgM-positive women had high-avidity antibodies suggesting that the infection was acquired before gestation The relation of IgM seropositivity with the following risk factors was not found to be statistically significant; contact with cats (0.13), non-vegetarian food habits (0.05), and low socio-economic status (0.49). While, for IgG avidity ELISA, only contact with cats (0.01) was significantly associated with seropositivity. All other risk factors have P-values of >0.05 (not significant). IgG avidity test when used in combination with IgM test was a valuable assay for diagnosis of ongoing or recently acquired T. gondii infection in India.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제24권9호
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• pp.1211-1216
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• 2011

Sexual maturity in poultry is controlled by a complex neural circuit located in the basal forebrain, which integrates the central and peripheral signals to activate hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion. This study demonstrated the changes of GnRH-I, POMC and NPY mRNA transcription in hypothalamus and IGF-I and leptin levels in serum of Shaoxing ducks during puberty. Body weight increased progressively from d30 to d120 and at d120 the flock reached 5% of laying rate. A significant upregulation of hypothalamic GnRH-I mRNA expression was observed from d60, reaching the peak at d120. POMC and NPY mRNA expression in hypothalamus showed a similar pattern, which increased from d30 to d60, followed by a significant decrease towards sexual maturity. Serum IGF-I levels exhibited two peaks at d30 and d120, respectively. Serum leptin displayed a single peak at d90. The results indicate that the down-regulation of POMC and NPY genes in hypothalamus coincides with the up-regulation of GnRH-I gene to initiate sexual maturation in ducks. In addition, peripheral IGF-I and leptin may relay the peripheral metabolic status to the central system and contribute to the initiation of the reproductive function in ducks.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.118-126
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• 2013

We investigated the major trends in health aid financing in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by identifying the primary donor organizations and examining several data sources to track overall health aid trends. We collected gross disbursements from bilateral donor countries and international organizations toward the DPRK according to specific health sectors by using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development creditor reporting system database and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs financial tracking service database. We analyzed sources of health aid to the DPRK from the Republic of Korea (ROK) using the official records from the ROK's Ministry of Unification. We identified the ROK, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) as the major donor entities not only according to their level of health aid expenditures but also their growing roles within the health sector of the DPRK. We found that health aid from the ROK is comprised of funding from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, private organizations, local governments, and South Korean branches of international organizations such as WHO and UNICEF. We also distinguished medical equipment aid from developmental aid to show that the majority of health aid from the ROK was developmental aid. This study highlights the valuable role of the ROK in the flow of health aid to the DPRK, especially in light of the DPRK's precarious international status. Although global health aid from many international organizations has decreased, organizations such as GFATM and UNFPA continue to maintain their focus on reproductive health and infectious diseases.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.265-271
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• 2011

This study was undertaken to find out the effect of methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD) on cold shock and membrane cholesterol quantity of sperm during the freezing process in miniature pigs. For this study, semen ejaculated from PWG M-type miniature pig was diluted that freezing solution (with egg yolk group) and m-Modena B (without egg yolk group) treated with 0, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mM MBCD before freezing process. The diluted semen was monitored sperm ability at room temperature, after cooled until $5^{\circ}C$ and after forzen-thawed for cold shock test of spermatozoa. Also, membrane cholesterol of sperm was extracted by folch solution at the same time sperm ability was assessed for viability and acrosomal status. The membrane cholesterol quantity was measured by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method. The result, viability and acrosome integrity in semen diluted without egg yolk groups were decreased at all temperature range by increasing of MBCD concentration. In particular, sperm of egg yolk group was showed that significantly higher viability and lower acrosome damage when treated with 5 mM MBCD (p<0.05). The results of TLC experiment, cholesterol amounts were increased with MBCD cocentration in egg yolk, and decreased with MBCD concentration in m-Modena B. In cryopreservation efficiency, there was no significant difference at viability, and acrosomal state of sperm in 5 mM MBCD concentration was significantly lower in acrosome damage than other groups (p<0.05). Therefore, the addition MBCD in egg yolk was protected spermatozoa from cold shock injury. This protective effect of MBCD may be due to addition of sperm membrane cholesterol.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제20권7호
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• pp.1135-1155
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• 2007

Selenium is considered to be one of the most controversial trace elements. On the one hand, it is toxic at high doses and there is a great body of information related to environmental issues of Se contamination. On the other hand, Se deficiency is a global problem related to an increased susceptibility to various diseases of animals and humans and decreased productive and reproductive performance of farm animals. Optimisation of Se nutrition of poultry and farm animals will result in increased efficiency of egg, meat and milk production and even more important, will improve quality. From the data presented in the review it is clear that the main lesson which we have to learn from nature is how to use organic selenium in animal and human diets. Selenium-enriched yeast (Sel-Plex) is the result of such a lesson and it is just a matter of time before animal nutrition moves completely from using ineffective sodium selenite to organic selenium. Other lessons from nature will follow. Recent advances in genomics and proteomics, in association with descriptions of new selenoproteins, will be a driving force in reconsidering old approaches related to Se nutrition. Probably 90% of all Se research has been conducted with sodium selenite and we now understand that the natural form of selenium is different. The main advances in Se status assessment and Se requirements were established based on the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), an enzyme which for many years was considered to be the main selenoprotein. Recently it was discovered that it is only one of at least 25 various selenoproteins. Se research and practical applications are developing quickly and they are very exciting and promising.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제23권8호
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• pp.1096-1104
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• 2010

This bio-acoustic study was aimed at classifying the different porcine wasting diseases through sound analysis with emphasis given to differences in the acoustic footprints of coughs in porcine circo virus type 2 (PCV2), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MH) - infected pigs from a normal cough. A total of 36 pigs (Yorkshire${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Duroc) with average weight ranging between 25-30 kg were studied, and blood samples of the suspected infected pigs were collected and subjected to serological analysis to determine PCV2, PRRS and MH. Sounds emitted by coughing pigs were recorded individually for 30 minutes depending on cough attacks by a digital camcorder placed within a meter distance from the animal. Recorded signals were digitalized in a PC using the Cool Edit Program, classified through labeling method, and analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and discriminant analysis. Input features after classification showed that normal cough had the highest pitch level compared to other infectious diseases (p<0.002) but not statistically different from PRRS and MH. PCV2 differed statistically (p<0.002) from the normal cough and PRRS but not from MH. MH had the highest intensity and all coughs differed statistically from each other (p<0.0001). PCV2 was statistically different from others (p<0.0001) in formants 1, 2, 3 and 4. There was no statistical difference in duration between different porcine diseases and the normal cough (p>0.6863). Mechanisms of cough sound creation in the airway could be used to explain these observed acoustic differences and these findings indicated that the existence of acoustically different cough patterns depend on causes or the animals' respiratory system conditions. Conclusively, differences in the status of lungs results in different cough sounds. Finally, this study could be useful in supporting an early detection method based on the on-line cough counter algorithm for the initial diagnosis of sick animals in breeding farms.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.24-30
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• 2007

We developed an ecosystem indicator (EI) for the coastal and offshore areas of Korean waters. One of the major scientific challenges of this undertaking was to translate broad policy statements for ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) into practical terms. Fish reproduction potential (FRP) was defined as an EI to describe the reproductive probability of adult fisheries resources in Korean waters. The FRP was estimated as the ratio of adult fish composition to total catch, catches (in metric tons) by species and by ecosystem, and fishery effort (in horse power per metric ton). The FRP indices of the East/japan Sea Ecosystem (EJSE), Yellow Sea Ecosystem (YSE), and East China Sea Ecosystem (ECSE) began to decrease after the mid-1980s, and the current indices have decreased further, at 0.63 (EJSE), 1.22 (YSE), and 0.68 (ECSE) index points compared to the indices of 1975, when similar catch amounts were recorded. Lower FRPs in the Korean marine ecosystems were the result of higher proportion of immature fisheries resources in the total catch. Because this kind of ecosystem-level indicator is thought to reflect scientific approaches to EBFM and to provide an important tool for assessing the current status of marine ecosystems with respect to both quantity and quality, more EIs should be developed for Korean waters.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.77-82
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• 2000

We carried out a case-control study to investigate protective effect of lactating against breast cancer in Korea. Cases (n=108) were the newly histologically identified breast cancer between December 1997 and August 1999. Hospital-based controls were selected by frequency matching method with age ($\pm$4 age) and menopausal status from the patients at the same hospital in the plastic surgery, general surgery and opthalmology department. Interviews included information on general characteristics of subjects, disease history, family history of breast cancer, vitamin supplementation, alcohol intake, food intake, and reproductive factors as well as lactation history. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Age distribution of case control subjects were similar. Late menarche age $\geq$ 17 in premenopausal women was related to the lower risk of breast cancer OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.28-0.91. Family history of breast cancer was related to the higher risk of breast cancer only in premenopausal women (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.35-2.71). Higher body mass index mass index (> 30) were associated with higher risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. For premenopausal women, women who had lactated $\geq$ 12 months to the first child had a significantly lower risk (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.24-0.97) than the women had no breast feeding experience. However, results from postmenopausal women did not show an association with decreased breast cancer risk. These findings suggest that lactation may be a protective factor of breast cancer in Korean women.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.267-274
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• 2008

This study was to evaluate the efficacy of single dose Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo)-vaccination in the swine farms which had different serological patterns of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). A minimum of 240 pigs from each farm was applied, allocating M. hyo vaccinated and control groups. The PRRSV and PCV2 infections were analyzed by serological method (commercial ELISA kit). After administrating pigs a single dose of M. hyo vaccine or control saline at 3 weeks of age, serum antibodies to M. hyo, PRRSV and PCV2 were monitored at 4, 10, 16 and 22 weeks of age. Mortality, weight changes, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and lung score were also evaluated. A single-dose vaccination of M. hyo bacterin was efficacious to reduce mycoplasmal lung lesions and induce good humoral immune response. However, FCR was improved only in one of the three farms where showed seronegative status to both PRRSV and PCV2 in the period from 4 to 16 weeks of age. These results might imply that M. hyo vaccine alone could not overcome the PRRSV and PCV2 infection-associated wasting in the field condition. Therefore, the control of PRRSV and PCV2 should be considered to obtain the better effects of M. hyo vaccination.

• 한국응용곤충학회지
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.73-79
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• 2009

톱다리개미허리노린재(Riptortus clavatus Thunberg) (Heteroptera: Alydidae)의 집합페로몬은 (E)-2-hexenyl (Z)-3-hexenoate (E2HZ3H), (E)-2-hexenyl (E)-2-hexenoate (E2HE2H) 및 tetradecyl isobutyrate (TI)의 세 성분으로 구성되어 있다. 성충의 나이, 교미여부, 채집시기, 체중, 하루 중 시간대에 따른 이들 성분의 분비변이를 조사하였다. 이 집합페로몬의 분비량은 교미여부와 체중 및 하루 중 시간에 따른 차이가 없었다. 그러나 우화 후 일수가 경과할수록 수컷의 집합페로몬 분비량이 많아졌으며, 4월부터 9월까지 채집된 수컷의 집합페로몬 검출량은 10월에 채집된 수컷의 검출량보다 높았으며, 11월과 12월에 채집된 수컷에서는 집합페로몬이 검출되지 않았다. 이러한 집합페로몬의 분비변이 양상을 톱다리개미허리노린재의 먹이이용 전략 및 휴면현상과 관련지어 고찰하였다.