• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.135-141
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• 2020

The first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was reported in Korea in 2015, after a Korean man from Bahrain tested positive for the infection. After first eruption, there were numbers of secondary infectees and whole country were frightened. At the time, isolated ambulances were available but few, and there was no specific way to prevent contamination during transfer. Therefore, Seoul National University Hospital and the University of Seoul developed isolation units and air filters. Four years after the MERS outbreak, this study measured the differential pressure inside and outside the small isolation units based on the differential pressure and air flow derived from simulation and testing, and proposed minimum values for virus leakage and internal sealing. A performance evaluation and testing method for the transfer equipment is proposed. The critical function of the small isolated transport equipment was defined and selected as an evaluation item; performance evaluation was carried out by simulating a real-world case. The results provide the proper pressure configuration of positive and negative pressure inside the segregation feeder; the clear criteria for the HEPA filter; and the performance criteria for the segregation feeder and air purifier.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6227-6231
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• 2013

In the past, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was endemic in the general Korean population. The association of HBV infection with the occurrence of liver cancer has been well demonstrated in several epidemiologic studies. While the mortality rates of liver cancer in Korea have decreased steadily over the last decade, the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in mothers remains high at 3-4%, and 25.5% of these HBsAg positive mothers are positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). HBV infection caused almost a quarter of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases and one-third of deaths from HCC. These aspects of HBV infection prompted the Korean government to create a vaccination program against HBV in the early 1980s. In 1995, the Communicable Disease Prevention Act (CDPA) was reformed, and the government increased the number of HBV vaccines in the National Immunization Program (NIP), driving the vaccination rate up to 95%. In 2000, the National Health Insurance Act (NHIA) was enacted, which provided increased resources for the prevention of perinatal HBV infection. Then in 2002, the Korean government, in conjunction with the Korean Medical Association (KMA), launched an HBV perinatal transmission prevention program. The prevalence of HBsAg in children had been high (4-5%) in the early 1980s, but had dropped to below 1% in 1995, and finally reached 0.2% in 2006 after the NIP had been implemented. After the success of the NIP, Korea finally obtained its first certification of achievement from the Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WPRO-WHO) for reaching its goal for HBV control. An age-period-cohort analysis showed a significant reduction in the liver cancer mortality rate in children and adolescents after the NIP had been implemented. In addition to its vaccination efforts, Korea launched the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) for 5 leading sites of cancer, including the liver, in 1999. As a consequence of this program, the 5-year liver cancer survival rate increased from 13.2% (1996-2000) to 23.3% (2003-2008). The development of both the primary and secondary prevention for liver cancer including HBV immunization and cancer screening has been of critical importance.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 1999

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the seroepidemiology of hepatitis A and hepatitis B in Korean children. Methods: 801 children aged 6 to 12 years were enrolled. IgG antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs), and IgG antibody to HBc (anti-HBc) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: Of the 801 children, the seroprevalence of anti-HAV was 0%. Three (0.4%) were seropositive for HBsAg. The seroprevalence of anti-HBs was 61.8%. Two (0.4%) of 495 anti-HBs positive subjects were positvie for anti-HBc. Of the 801 children, 658 (82.1%) had received hepatitis B vaccination. Conclusions: Since natural anti-HAV is not acquired in the childhood, the outbreak of hepatitis A is possible in adolescents and young adults. The decrease in seroprevalence of HBsAg and the increase in seroprevalence of anti-HBs might result from hepatitis B vaccination program in childhood.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.81-89
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• 1983

Epizootics and sporadic outbreaks of the cattle disease characterized by fever, stomatitis and dysphagia were observed in Korea in September through November, 1982. The number of cattle showed typical symptoms of the disease was estimated to 73 and these animals were concentrated in Gyongido province, the central district of Korea. In other districts around Gyongido province the disease tended to be sporadic occurrence. The main lesions of the disease were defined as edema, hemorrhage, degeneration and necrosis of the oral mucosa and musculatures of the esophagus and laryngopharyngeal area, and abomasum. Of these lesions hyaline degeneration and hemorrhage of the striated muscle of the esophagus and laryngopharyngeal area were the most striking changes of the disease and rated to be the lesion of diagnostic significance. The serum samples of the cattle with typical symptoms showed significant positive titer of the antibodies against Ibaraki virus. On these clinical, epidemiological, pathological and serological findings of the disease it was diagnosed as Ibaraki disease presenting the only report on the epizootics in the countries other than Japan.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.298-309
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• 2000

Background : The antitumor effects of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and ganciclovir (GCV) strategies for cancer gene therapy have a the following advantages : 1) a direct cytotoxicity to HSV-tk modified cancer cells by GCV 2) a cell death by the local transfer of toxic metabolites from the HSV-tk modified cells to nearby unmodified tumor cells (bystander effect), and 3) in vivo bystander effect such as antitumor-immunity. Retroviral and adenoviral sequences can silence transgene expression in cells and mice. In this study, we investigated the above described advantages of HSV-tk/GCV strategy in Lewis lung cell and mouse lung cancer model using retroviral vector and adenoviral vector. Also, we observed whether the expression of a silenced gene can be reactivated by treating cells with butyrate. Methods : Retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors were used for the transduction of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. The change of HSV-tk expression by butyrate was measured by Western blol The antitumor activities containing bystander effect were observed in vivo (by MTT assay) and in vivo tumor models of various combinations of LLC and LLC-tk. Results : 1. Butyrate induced the enhancement of HSV-tk expression from adenovirally transduced cells but not from retrovirally transduced cells. 2. Both retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors with GCV treatment were effective for killing of tumor cell in vitro and suppression of LLC tumorigenicity. Bystander effect was responsible for killing of mixture of LLC-tk and LLC in vitro and in vivo-tumorigenicity model. Conclusion : Butyrate could augment adenovirus-mediated HSV -tk gene expression. Cancer gene therapy with HSV-tk suicide gene by retroviral and adenoviral vector seems to be an effective approach for lung cancer therapy.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.63-65
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• 1999

Although many pharmaceutically useful proteins are produced in E. coli expression system, it is very are rare for the system to be used in the production of diagnostic antigen due to a major problem, i.e., false-positive reaction of e. coli host-derived proteins contaminating purified diagnostic antigen with human sera. The N (nucleocapsid) protein of Seoul virus causing haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) was produced in E. coli BL21 (DE3), and used for the detection of N protein-specific antibodies in human sera. Using the N protein as a diagnostic antigen of HFRS, the false-positive reaction was cleared by merely mixing the test sera with the extract of E. coli host strain not harboring expression plasmid.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to compare crop contamination between two irrigation methods using microbial-contaminated water. The effect of relative humidity on microbial survival of the three indicator microorganisms was also investigated. Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Clostridium perfringens ATCC 3624, and coliphage PRD1 were applied to irrigation water to grow cantaloupe, lettuce, and bell pepper. Half of the sixteen plots were subsurface drip irrigated (SDI) and the other half were furrow irrigated (FI). Two relative humidity levels were controlled at 15-65 % and 55-80 % for the dry and humid condition experiments, respectively. Samples of produce, surface soil, and subsurface soil at a depth of 10 cm were collected over a two-week period following the application of the study microorganisms. Overall, greater contamination of both produce and soil occurred in the FI plots. For the SDI plots, preferential water paths and resulting water appearance on the seed beds seemed to be responsible for produce contamination. Relative humidity levels did not appear to affect microbial survival in soil. PRD 1 showed lower inactivation rates than 5. coli in both dry and humid conditions. C. perfringens did not experience significant inactivation over the experimental period, suggesting this microorganism can be an effective indicator of fecal contamination.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.293-297
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• 2014

Swine influenza is an acute respiratory disease prevalent in pig-growing areas worldwide. In total, 518 gilt and sow serum samples and 14 litters (66 samples) of aborted fetuses from 37 farms (average of 14 serum samples per farm) in Gyeongbuk Province were collected between September 2010 and May 2011. All samples were examined for antibodies to swine influenza virus (SIV) H1N1 and H3N2 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seropositive rates of gilt and sows were 59.8% (310/518) for SIV H1N1, 78.8% (408/518) for H3N2, and 55.6% (288/518) for both subtypes tested. The rate of aborted fetuses was 13.6% (9/66) for H1N1, 9.1% (6/66) for H3N2, and 9.1% for both subtypes. The seroprevalence for H1N1 in gilts and sows was 46.6% (69/148) and 65.1% (241/370), respectively, and that for H3N2 was 78.4% (116/148) and 78.9% (292/370), respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1994.11a
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• pp.61-67
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• 1994

One fundamental problem in developing an AIDS vaccine is antigenic variation of HIV. Despite a substantial induced immune response in gp120-immunized monkeys and humans, high titers of V3-directed type specific neutralizing antibodies may not be sufficient to neutralize continuously emerging new isolates. Several studies analyzing anti-gp120 antibodies in HIV-infected individuals have clearly indicated that most broadly neutralizing antibodies are directed to conformation-dependent epitopes. Therefore, it seems important to evaluate the potential efficacy of candidate gp120 vaccines at inducing such antibodies, that might be potentially protective against multiple HIV strains. One concern in the development of any recombinant protein as a vaccine is its stability when mixed with an adjuvant. This could be a particularly important factor for recombinant gp120, given the conformational nature of its major, broadly neutralizing, epitopes. We hypothesized that gp120 complexed with recombinant CD4 could stabilize the conformation-dependent epitopes and effectively deliver these epitopes to the immune system. In this study, a soluble gp120-CD4 complex in Syntex Adjuvant Formulation was tested in mice to analyze the anti-gp120 antibody response. With the aim of defining the fine specificity and neutalizing activities of the immune response, 17Mabs were generated and characterized. The studies indicate that the gp120-CD4 complex elicits neutralizing anti-gp120 antibodies, most of which are directed to the conformation dependent epitopes.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.99-103
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• 2004

The aim of the present study was to develop a sensitive and specific assay for the diagnosis of alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) which is a cause agent of malignant catarrhal fever in ruminants. A1HV-1 is a gamma herpesvirus, which is frequent latent, and it is often difficult to detect its antigens or specific nucleic acids because of its low genomic copies in the infected tissues. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-dot blot hybridization (DBH) assay for detecting AlHV-1 DNA was developed and evaluated for its sensitivity and specificity as comparison with PCR and DBH alone. The developed PCR-DBH was more sensitive than PCR or DBH alone and also very specific. The results showed that the sensitivity of PCR-DBH were higher and stronger than those of PCR and DBH alone. This PCR-DBH assay can be applied efficiently to confirm the presence of AlHV-1 virus on clinical samples and to differentiate specifically between AlHV-1 infection and other viral infections.