• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.320-329
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• 2003

Background : The serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is released from the ventricles as a response to volume or pressure overload of the ventricles. A few studies have reported that the BNP measurements are useful in differentiating between heart failure and pulmonary causes in patients who visited the emergency department with dyspnea as the chief complaint. It is difficult to differentiate a right heart failure from a left heart failure in the emergency room. However, there is no report on the application of a BNP assay to differentiate in right heart failure from left heart failure. In this study, the BNP levels were measured from dyspneic patients in the emergency department to determine whether or not the BNP level would be useful in differentiating the cause of the dyspnea from right ventricular failure and left ventricular failure. Method : 89 patients who visited emergency department of the Bundang Cha Hospital with dyspnea from June 2002 to March 2003 were selected. The 29 patients from the outpatient clinics and inpatients were randomly selected as the control. Results : The BNP levels of patients in the left heart failure group were significantly different from that of the patients in the right heart failure group ($682{\pm}314$ pg/mL vs. $149{\pm}94$ pg/mL, p=0.000). When the BNP cut-off level was designated as 219 pg/mL using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the sensitivity was 94.3%, and specificity was 92.9%. In addition, the positive predictive value was 97% and the negative predictive value was 86.7% in differentiating right heart failure from left heart failure. Conclusion : Measurements of the serum BNP levels is an accurate and rapid method that can aid in distinguishing between right heart failure and left heart failure.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.347-356
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• 1999

Background: Exit site/tunnel infection causes considerable morbidity and technique failure in CAPD patients. We presently use a unique revision method for the treatment of refractory ESI/TI in CAPD patients and mupirocin prophylaxis for high risk patients. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 139 CAPD patients about the ESI/TI from October 1993 to February 1999 at Yeungnam University Hospital. At the beginning of the ESI. we usually started medications with rifampicin and ciprofloxacin and then changed the antibiotics according to the sensitivity test. If the ESI had persisted and there were TI symptoms (purulent discharge, abscess lesion around exit site). we performed catheter revision(external cuff shaving, disinfection around tunnel and new exit site on opposit direction) with a combination of proper antibiotics. We applied local mupirocin ointment at the exit site three times per week to the 34 patients who had the risk of ESI starting from October 1998. Results: The total follow-up was 2401 patient months(pt. mon). ESI occurred on 105 occasions in 36 out of 139 patients, and peritonitis occurred on 112 occasions in 67 out of 139 patients. The total number of incidences of ESI and peritonitis was 1 per 23.0 pt. mon and 1 per 2l.6 pt.mon. The most common organism responsible for ESI was Staphylococcus aureus (26 of 54 isolated cases, 48%), followed by the Methicillin resistant S. aureus(MRSA) (13 cases, 24%). Seven patients(5: MRSA. 2: Pseudomonas) had to be treated with a revision to control infection. Three patients experienced ESI relapse after revision. One of them improved with antibiotics, while another needed a second revision and the remaining required catheter removal due to persistent MRSA infection with re-insertion at the same time. But, there was no more ESI in these 3 patients who were received management to relapse (The mean duration: 14.0 months). The rates of ESI were significantly reduced after using mupirocin than before(1 per 12.7 vs 34.0 pt.mon, P<0.01). Conclusions: In summary, revision technique can be regarded as an effective method for refractory ESI/TI before catheter removal. Also local mupirocin ointment can play a significant role in the prevention of ESI.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2008

Bovine blood, cell, tissue, and organ are used as raw materials for manufacturing biopharmaceuticals, tissue engineered products, and cell therapy. Manufacturing processes for the biologicals using bovine materials have the risk of viral contamination. Therefore viral validation is, essential in ensuring the safety of the products. Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) is the most common bovine pathogen found in bovine blood, cell, tissue, and organ. In order to establish the validation system for the BHV-1 safety of the products, a real-time PCR method was developed for quantitative detection of BHV-1 in raw materials, manufacturing processes, and final products as well as BHV-1 clearance validation. Specific primers for amplification of BHV-1 DNA was selected, and BHV-1 DNA was quantified by use of SYBR Green I. The sensitivity of the assay was calculated to be $2\;TCID_{50}/ml$. The real-time PCR method was validated to be reproducible and very specific to BHV-1. The established real-time PCR assay was successfully applied to the validation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell artificially infected with BHV-1. BHV-1 DNA could be quantified in CHO cell as well as culture supernatant. Also the real-time PCR assay could detect $10\;TCID_{50}/ml$ of BHV-1 artificially contaminated in bovine collagen. The overall results indicated that this rapid, specific, sensitive, and robust assay can be reliably used for quantitative detection of BHV-1 contamination during the manufacture of biologics.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1381-1388
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• 2002

Purpose : Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography(MRCP) is a noninvasive method for imaging the pancreaticobiliary tree. The aim of this study was to evalute the usefulness of MRCP for the diagnosis of pancreaticobiliary diseases in children. Methods : From October 1996 to May 2001, 67 patients with obstructive jaundice and three patients with chronic recurrent pancreatitis were evaluated with abdominal ultrasonography and MRCP. The final diagnosis was based on the operative and pathologic findings with biopsy specimen including clinical and laboratory findings. Results : A total of 70 patients, consisting of 31 males and 39 females, with a mean age of $2.6{\pm}3.3$ years were studied. The final diagnosis was biliary atresia in 25, neonatal cholestasis in 18, choledochal cyst without anomalous pancreatobiliary duct union(APBDU) in nine, choledochal cyst with APBDU in seven, cholestatic hepatitis in five, chronic recurrent pancreatitis in three, sclerosing cholangitis in two, and secondary biliary cirrhosis in one case. The overall diagnostic accuracy of abdominal ultrasonography was 75.7% and that of MRCP was 97.1%. The sensitivity and specificity of MRCP were 100% and 98% for biliary atresia, 87.5% and 100% for choledochal cyst with APBDU, 100% and 100% for choledochal cyst without APBDU, sclerosing cholangitis and chronic recurrent pancreatitis, respectively. Conclusion : MRCP is a fast, non-invasive and reliable method for diagnosing pancreaticobiliary diseases in children and will be the standard diagnostic procedure in the future.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.39-55
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• 1992

In this research, a Three Level Decomposition technique has been developed for configuration design optimization of truss structures. In the first level, as design variables, behavior variables are used and the strain energy has been treated as the cost function to be maximized so that the truss structure can absorb maximum energy. For design constraint of the optimal design problem, allowable stress, buckling stress, and displacement under multi-loading conditions are considered. In the second level, design problem is formulated using the cross-sectional area as the design variable and the weight of the truss structure as the cost function. As for the design constraint, the equilibrium equation with the optimal displacement obtained in the first level is used. In the third level, the nodal point coordinates of the truss structure are used as coordinating variable and the weight has been taken as the cost function. An advantage of the Three Level Decomposition technique is that the first and second level design problems are simple because they are linear programming problems. Moreover, the method is efficient because it is not necessary to carry out time consuming structural analysis and techniques for sensitivity analysis during the design optimization process. By treating the nodal point coordinates as design variables, the third level becomes unconstrained optimal design problems which is easier to solve. Moreover, by using different convergence criteria at each level of design problem, improved convergence can be obtained. The proposed technique has been tested using four different truss structures to yield almost identical optimum designs in the literature with efficient convergence rate regardless of constraint types and configuration of truss structures.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.261-266
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• 2012

It is common to use many experiment animals to evaluate the toxicity of chemicals including pesticides. For protecting animal, the concepts of 3R (Reduction, Replacement, Refinement) were introduced and in vitro alternatives methods actively have been developed all over the world. Many experimental animals for toxicological tests have been used, so that it is important to establish the alternative methods. In this study, the alternative method using reconstituted human skin model (Keraskin$^{TM}$) was conducted for classification of skin irritation on pesticides. Sixteen formulations selected on the basis of the degree of irritation were treated by Keraskin$^{TM}$ test. The percent of cell viability was measured into the culture medium collected after treatment of the pesticides for 24-72 hrs. The skin irritations of formulations were evaluated by the cell viability. In this study, The 4 formulations with mild irritation in rabbits were evaluated as nonirritant, the 6 formulations with moderate and severe irritation were evaluated as irritant in human skin model test. We suggest that the alternative test using Keraskin$^{TM}$ model could be used as toxicity evaluation for primary irritation index (P.I.I.) score of greater than or equal to 2.1 of pesticides. The further studies should be required to apply for hazardous assessment of pesticides on alternative skin irritation methods because of the interindividual variability of the sensitivity of skin irritation on pesticides.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1209-1215
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• 2003

This study was carried out to establish a quantitative analysis method of separating immuno-activating substance (EN-SP) from Acanthopanax senticosus (A. senticosus) by competitive direct ELISA. Mouse antiserum (anti-EN-SP) against EN-SP was generated by immunization (s.c.) of EN-SP purified from A. senticosus as an immunogen. The titer of anti-EN-SP was about 1 : 400, and the optimal dilution of EN-SP-HRP conjugate was 1 : 1,000. When the standard curve was constructed by ELISA, its sensitivity was about $0.2{\mu}g/mL$. The coefficient variation of intra- and inter-assay were $6.13{\sim}8.81%$ and $6.73{\sim}8.60%$, respectively. According to the standard curve, the concentration of EN-SP in various senticosus extracts was found to be only $59.85\;{\mu}g$ in 10mg of extract from the bark of A. senticosus. Similarly, the immunostimulating activity to produce $TNF-{\alpha}$ or IL-12 among the various extracts of Acanthopanax was shown to be correlated with the content of EN-SP. These results demonstrated that competitive ELISA was a convenient, fast, reproducible, and accurate method for the determination of EN-SP as an immunologically active standard substance in extract of A. senticosus.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2008

Validation of viral safety is essential in ensuring the safety of mammalian cell culture-derived biopharmaceuticals, because numerous adventitious viruses have been contaminated during the manufacture of the products. Mammalian cells are highly susceptible to Reovirus type 3 (Reo-3), and there are several reports of Reo-3 contamination during the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. In order to establish the validation system for the Reo-3 safety, a real-time RT-PCR method was developed for quantitative detection of Reo-3 in cell lines, raw materials, manufacturing processes, and final products as well as Reo-3 clearance validation. Specific primers for amplification of Reo-3 RNA was selected, and Reo-3 RNA was quantified by use of SYBR Green I. The sensitivity of the assay was calculated to be $3.2{\times}10^0\;TCID_{50}/ml$. The real-time RT-PCR method was proven to be reproducible and very specific to Reo-3. The established real-time RT-PCR assay was successfully applied to the validation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell artificially infected with Reo-3. Reo-3 RNA could be quantified in CHO cell as well as culture supernatant. When the real-time RT-PCR assay was applied to the validation of virus removal during a virus filtration process, the result was similar to that of virus infectivity assay. Therefore, it was concluded that this rapid, specific, sensitive, and robust assay could replace infectivity assay for detection and clearance validation of Reo-3.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.176-184
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• 2018

The aim of the present work was to develop simultaneous methods of quantification of carazolol, azaperone, and azaperol residues in livestock and fishery products using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Samples were extracted from beef, pork, chicken, egg, milk and shrimp using acetonitrile (ACN); while flat fish and eel were extracted using 80% ACN. For purification, ACN saturated n-hexane was used to remove fat composition. The standard calibration curves showed good linearity as correlation coefficients; $r^2$ was > 0.99. Average recoveries expressed were within the range of 67.9-105% for samples fortified at three different levels ($0.5{\times}MRL$, $1{\times}MRL$ and $2{\times}MRL$). The correlation coefficient expressed as precision was within the range of 0.55-7.93%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.0002-0.002 mg/kg. The proposed analytical method showed high accuracy and acceptable sensitivity based on Codex guideline requirements (CAC/GL71-2009). This method can be used to analyze the residue of carazolol, azaperone, and azaperol in livestock and fishery products.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.522-528
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to inquire into molecular epidemiological characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. For this study, 120 strains(120 strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus sampled from diarrhea patients) were examined and analyzed for biochemical characteristics, TDH (thermostable direct hemolysin) antibiotics sensitivity and detection of toxR, gyrE, tdh, and tds gents. G-S PCR (Group Specific Polymerase), PFGE (Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoriesis) methods were performed on the materials from patients were results. 1 Vibrio parahaemolyticus didn't grow in 0% density of NaCl, but the fact was found that those grew in 8% density of NaCl. 2. O：K serotypes of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was turned up in domestic patients was 17 types. Among those O3：K6 was the most, it was 68.3%. 3. In 18 kinds of antibiotic tests resistant against Ampicillin, Ticacillin was comparatively high. the case of resistant against Ampicillin, Ticacillin, Vancomycin at the multiple resistant was 52.5%. 4. Toxin gene tdh had only 109 strains among 120 ones isolated from patients held the genes of 199bp size, and 11 strains was negativity 5. In the test of Kanagawa toxic productivity, 107 strains among strains isolated from patients appeared to be positivity reaction 6. The strain that held trh toxin was only 3, and those among test strains had the genes of 250bp size and that had tdh, trh genes at a time were 3 strains, and TDH toxic productivity of those were 16 times, and it was weak. 7. Group Specific-PCR appeared to be useful in the confirmation of O3:K6 serotype interrelations. 8. Three strains which showed difference of 7 DNA sequence even in the same serotype were detected by the result of analyzing the regular gene, toxRS DNA sequence. These strains are differ from general strains which carry infection easily. 9. These mutual dose epidemiological relations were classified into smaller-parts through PFGE method. As a result of such classify, 3 findings were found. V. parahaemolyticus sampled from diarrhea patients were classified into 3 types. And third, the result obtained through PFGE method can be used as a useful tool in a point of molecular-epidemiological view.