• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2010

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is major cause of chronic respiratory disease in chickens. M. synoviae (MS) most frequently occurs a subclinical upper respiratory infection but may result in airsacculitis and synovitis in chickens and turkeys. Both mycoplasmas induce economic losses by triggering chronic respiratory signs, airsacculitis and decreased egg production. For prevention of the infections, live attenuated andinactivated vaccines are commercially used for prevention of MG but not MS in Korea. Serum plate agglutination (SPA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) have been commonly used for serological diagnosis for MG and MS. Recently, it is believed that MS spread in chickens is very seriously in Korea and respiratory infection with MS causes substantial loss in poultry farms. In this study, we investigated the serological prevalence of MG and MS in unvaccinated chickens between 2008 and 2009. The overall seroprevalence of MG was 24% of 2,094 for individual chickens and 24% of 189 farms. The overall seroprevalence of MS was 36% in 2,095 chickens and 39% in 198 farms. The results show that seropositive ratio of MS is higher than MG. The geographical prevalence of MG has been estimated in following sequence; Gangwon, Jeolla, Gyeonggi, Gyeongsang, and Chungcheong. The geographical prevalence of MS has been estimated as follows; Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Gyeongsang, Chungcheong, and Jeolla. Seasonal seroprevalencewas also examined, and it found that seroprevalence in spring, fall and winter was higher than that in summer in MG, but not in MS. No significant difference was shown in seroprevalence according to breed. Future study about pathogenicity of MS isolates would be needed and economical losses by MS outbreaks should be analyzed. Moreover, we compared sero-positivity obtained with SPA and ELISA. The kappa value of MG between SPA and ELISA was 0.8061 and the kappa value of MS between SPA and ELISA was 0.7649.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.758-771
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• 2020

This study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from 4,264 retail meat samples including beef, pork, and chicken in Korea between 2013 and 2018. A broth microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for S. aureus. Molecular typing by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), was performed on mecA-positive S. aureus strain. S. aureus was isolated at a rate of 18.2% (777/4,264), of which MRSA comprised 0.7% (29 strains). MLST analysis showed that 11 out of the 29 MRSA isolates were predominantly sequence type (ST) 398 (37.9%). In addition, ST72, ST692, ST188, ST9, and ST630 were identified in the MRSA isolates. The spa typing results were classified into 11 types and showed a high correlation with MLST. The antimicrobial resistance assays revealed that MRSA showed 100% resistance to cefoxitin and penicillin. In addition, resistance to tetracycline (62.1%), clindamycin (55.2%), and erythromycin (55.2%) was relatively high; 27 of the 29 MRSA isolates exhibited multidrug resistance. PFGE analysis of the 18 strains excluding the 11 ST398 strains exhibited a maximum of 100% homology and a minimum of 64.0% homology. Among these, three pairs of isolates showed 100% homology in PFGE; these results were consistent with the MLST and spa typing results. Identification of MRSA at the final consumption stage has potential risks, suggesting that continuous monitoring of retail meat products is required.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.287-295
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• 2016

Involuntary physical activity induced by the avoidance of electrical shock leads to improved endurance exercise capacity in animals. However, it remains unknown whether voluntary stand-up physical activity (SPA) without forced simulating factors improves endurance exercise capacity in animals. We examined the effects of SPA on body weight, cardiac function, and endurance exercise capacity for 12 weeks. Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats (aged 8 weeks, n=6 per group) were randomly assigned to a control group (CON) or a voluntary SPA group. The rats were induced to perform voluntary SPA (lifting a load equal to their body weight), while the food height (18.0 cm) in cages was increased progressively by 3.5 every 4 weeks until it reached 28.5 cm for 12 weeks. The SPA group showed a lower body weight compared to the CON group, but voluntary SPA did not affect the skeletal muscle and heart weights, food intake, and echocardiography results. Although the SPA group showed higher grip strength, running time, and distance compared to the CON group, the level of irisin, corticosterone, genetic expression of mitochondrial biogenesis, and nuclei numbers were not affected. These findings show that voluntary SPA without any forced stimuli in rats can effectively reduce body weight and enhance endurance exercise capacity, suggesting that it may be an important alternative strategy to enhance endurance exercise capacity.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-36
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• 2012

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate effective treatment point selection method using oppressive pain in acupoints as elementary attempt for standard methodology of clinical acupuncture studies. Methods : Twenty seven subjects with hypertension or within prehypertension category - systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) over 120/80mmHg - were divided into two groups, oppressive pain point treatment group and oppressive painless point treatment group. In oppressive pain point treatment group, single point acupuncture (SPA) was conducted for 16 sessions during 8 weeks on most oppressive painful point among 6 selected acupuncture points used in previous trials and clinic. As a SPA intervention, 15 minutes with deqi sensation- elevating manipulation was conducted on the treatment acupoint. Same process was conducted in oppressive painless point treatment group on most oppressive painless point with subject blinding. Results : Significant reduction was observed in both systolic and diastolic BP after short time intervention (15.5/8.8 mmHg, 10.7/7.1 mmHg, P<0.05, respectively at 1 week) and maintained for 8 weeks intervention period in all groups (12.8/8.0 mmHg, 19.4/12.6 mmHg, P<0.05, respectively). No significant difference of BP change between oppressive pain point treatment group (N=10) and oppressive painless point treatment group (N=9) was observed during 8 weeks study period. Conclusions : SPA treatment as used in this pilot study was effective for lowering BP in mild hypertensive population, but oppressive pain in acupoint had no effect on treatment. This present result suggests the possibility of SPA for hypertension treatment regardless of oppressive pain.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.31-36
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• 2019

Streptococcus mutans is one of the important bacteria that forms dental biofilm and cause dental caries. Virulence genes in S. mutans can be classified into the genes involved in bacterial adhesion, extracellular polysaccharide formation, biofilm formation, sugar uptake and metabolism, acid tolerance, and regulation. The genes involved in bacterial adhesion are gbps (gbpA, gbpB, and gbpC) and spaP. The gbp genes encode glucan-binding protein (GBP) A, GBP B, and GBP C. The spaP gene encodes cell surface antigen, SpaP. The genes involved in extracellular polysaccharide formation are gtfs (gtfB, gtfC, and gtfD) and ftf, which encode glycosyltransferase (GTF) B, GTF C, and GTF D and fructosyltransferase, respectively. The genes involved in biofilm formation are smu630, relA, and comDE. The smu630 gene is important for biofilm formation. The relA and comDE genes contribute to quorumsensing and biofilm formation. The genes involved in sugar uptake and metabolism are eno, ldh, and relA. The eno gene encodes bacterial enolase, which catalyzes the formation of phosphoenolpyruvate. The ldh gene encodes lactic acid dehydrogenase. The relA gene contributes to the regulation of the glucose phosphotransferase system. The genes related to acid tolerance are atpD, aguD, brpA, and relA. The atpD gene encodes $F_1F_0$-ATPase, a proton pump that discharges $H^+$ from within the bacterium to the outside. The aguD gene encodes agmatine deiminase system and produces alkali to overcome acid stress. The genes involved in regulation are vicR, brpA, and relA.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.191-198
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• 2007

The main purpose of the study is to figure out visitors' intentions for the Suanbo Spa Festival after they participated the events, programs offered from the Suanbo Festival organization. The visitors were also asked to evaluate contents, images, and convenience facilities of the festival. The study found that only visitors over 60s of age positively evaluate the festival, therefore, products such as traditional tea-making, herb-massage will attract old aged group. The findings suggests that event image and convenient facilities have impact on tourists' responses and intentions to their neighbors. The result of the study also recommend traditional participations such as horseback-riding, GaMa-riding, Korean traditional archery shooting to be added to the participating program.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.186-193
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• 2020

Objective: The effectiveness of Staphylococcus protein A (SPA) in improving the penetration ability of sperm and reducing antisperm antibody (ASA) titers in immunologically infertile males was evaluated. Methods: Seminal fluid samples were obtained from 15 infertile men, and ASA titers were assessed with the latex agglutination test. Identification of immunoglobulin (Ig) classes and characterization of the antigens involved in the immune response were performed using indirect immunofluorescence. Local ASAs typically present as a mixture of IgG and IgA classes. The capillary tube penetration method was used to assess the capability of spermatozoa to penetrate the cervical mucus (CM). Results: ASAs associated with the neck region of sperm showed a significantly lower migration distance in the CM of infertile females than ASAs associated with the head or tail segments. ASA-positive seminal fluid exhibited significant increases in the mean migration distance (2.6 ± 1.4 cm vs. 1.54 ± 1.1 cm, respectively; p< 0.001) and sperm concentration (174 ± 121.0 × 10³/mL vs. 101 ± 93.7 × 10³/mL, respectively; p= 0.033) after treatment with SPA compared to pre-treated samples. A significant reduction (p< 0.01) in the recorded ASA titer was detected. Conclusion: These results indicate that SPA can be used as a sorting regimen for insemination programs. However, further studies are warranted to assess its influence on pregnancy rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.893-900
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate physicochemical changes in Salvia plebeia R. Br. (SPA) upon hot-air drying and blanching. After hot-air drying and blanching, total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were reduced from 96.64 mg and 48.40 mg gallic acid equivalent/g to 29.70 mg and 22.10 mg quercetin equivalent/g, respectively. DPPH radical scavenging activities at $25{\mu}g/mL$ of SPA were 94.5% for ascorbic acid, 84.3% for hot-air dried SPA, and 59.7% for blanched SPA and there was no significant difference between those of hot-air dried SPA and ascorbic acid as a positive control. Total sugar contents were 7.187% and 6.104% for hot-air dried SPA and blanched SPA, respectively. During the blanching process, sucrose and maltose contents decreased, whereas glucose and fructose contents increased. Glucose and fructose were converted into citric acid in blanched SPA, whereas sucrose and maltose were converted into tartaric acid, malic acid, and succinic acid. Fourteen kinds of amino acids were found, but methionine, lysine, glycine, histidine, and cysteine were absent. The proportion of essential amino acids was 61.76% upon hot-air drying, which was a relatively high amount. In addition, hot-air drying resulted in 1.40 mg/100 g of norvaline as well as 39.00 mg/100 g of GABA, which are non-amino acids. Therefore, Salvia plebeia R. Br. can be used not only as vegetables but also as highly useful and various health functional foods with antioxidant effects and excellent nutrition.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.141-163
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• 2005

The international SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability determination) Project ISO/IEC 15504(SPICE : Software Process Improvement and Capability determination) is an emerging International Standard on SPA(Software Process Assessment). A prime motivation for developing this standard has been the perceived need for an internationally recognized software process assessment framework that pulls together the existing public and proprietary models and methods. A SPICE assessment can be considered as one of representative SPA model since assessors assign ratings to indicators and metrics to measure the capability of software process. But this models doesn't provide a systematic measurement procedures and dynamic method for SPI(Software Process Improvement). Through the evaluation of SPICE is capable of providing a substantiated basis for using the notion of capability, as well as providing information for nacessary improvements to the standard using 6sigma process. As a result, this paper propose a measurement procedure and guidelines for application of 6sigma process to guarantee the reliability in SPI and suggest the structure to support SPI on overall organization.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.35-43
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• 2003

The randomization of scalar multiplication in ECC is one of the fundamental concepts in defense methods against side-channel attacks. This paper proposes a countermeasure against simple and differential power analysis attacks through randomizing the transformed m-ary method based on a random m-ary receding algorithm. The proposed method requires an additional computational load compared to the standard m-ary method, yet the power consumption is independent of the secret key. Accordingly, since computational tracks using random window width can resist against SPA and DPA, the proposed countermeasure can improve the security for smart cards.