• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.337-346
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• 2018

Purpose: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a form of arteriosclerosis that occurs in the extremities and involves ischemia. Previous studies have reported that patients with periodontitis are at high risk for PAD. However, the relationship between these 2 diseases has not yet been fully elucidated. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated this relationship by comparing patients with PAD to those with arrhythmia (ARR) as a control group. Methods: A large-scale survey was conducted of patients with cardiovascular disease who visited Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital. We investigated their oral condition and dental clinical measurements, including probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, clinical attachment level, and number of missing teeth; we also collected salivary and subgingival plaque samples and peripheral blood samples. All patients with PAD were extracted from the whole population (n=25), and a matching number of patients with ARR were extracted (n=25). Simultaneously, ARR patients were matched to PAD patients in terms of age, gender, prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and the smoking rate (n=25 in both groups). Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure the bacterial counts, while the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was used to measure anti-bacterial antibody titers and proinflammatory cytokine levels in serum. Results: PAD patients had more missing teeth ($18.4{\pm}2.0$) and higher serum levels of C-reactive protein ($1.57{\pm}0.85mg/dL$) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha ($70.3{\pm}5.7pg/mL$) than ARR patients ($12.0{\pm}1.7$, $0.38{\pm}0.21mg/dL$, and $39.3{\pm}4.5pg/mL$, respectively). Meanwhile, no statistically significant differences were found in other dental clinical measurements, bacterial antibody titers, or bacterial counts between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that PAD patients had poorer oral and periodontal state with enhanced systemic inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2022

The majority of the children experience milder coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Children represent a significant source of community transmission. Children under 18 years of age account for an estimated 4.8% of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections globally. However, no conclusive statements pertaining to the multi-fold aspects of the virus in children could be drawn due to the lower prevalence of pediatric cases. The present study was conducted to identify the indirect impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections on developing herd immunity among children in the age group 3 to 18 years by investigating their antibody levels. In the study, 240 children aged 3~18 years were recruited by the Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Amritsar, India, and quantification of the antibodies was performed at the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, India. Out of the 240 serum samples, 197 (82.08%) showed seropositivity, while 43 (17.92%) were seronegative. When stratified, it was observed that in the age group 3~6 years, 22.33% of children were found to have anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies while in the age groups 7~10 years, 11~14 years, and 15~18 years, respectively, 37.06%, 30.46%, and 10.15% were seropositive. Although there was seroconversion among children which was useful for predicting the next wave, no differences in seropositivity were observed between adults and children.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.325-334
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• 2023

Edema disease (ED) in pigs is enterotoxemia caused by Shiga toxin type 2e (Stx2e)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and frequently occurs in young piglets. Therefore, ED causes enormous economic losses in pig farms. In this study, a modified Stx2e (mStx2e) antigen was expressed and purified using commercial E. coli expression system. Monoclonal antibody was serviced by Ynto Ab Inc., using Phage Display Technique. Anti-Stx2e antibodies in piglets were measured by indirect ELISA using mStx2e antigens. Naive Stx2e in piglets were detected by Sandwich ELISA using Stx2e-monoclonal antibodies and commercial Stx2e-polyclonal antibodies. Among 3,480 piglets, anti-Stx2e antibodies were observed in 2,573 piglets. The 49.4% among 830 piglet serum samples possessed 0.625 ㎍/mL or more of Stx2e proteins. The 18.3% of 830 sera had 0.313 ㎍/mL of Stx2e proteins. The 32.3% of 830 samples held 0.156 ㎍/mL or less of Stx2e proteins. These results show that indirect ELISA using mStx2e antigen and Sandwich ELISA using Stx2e-monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies can be useful to detect ED in piglets.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2000

There have been some reports about the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody among Koreans, and most of all data were taken from patients visiting hospitals. However, the epidemiological data of the community-based study in Korea are rare. This study was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among the inhabitants of the rural area Okcheon-gun, Korea. A total of 1,109 serum samples (499 males, 610 females) were examined for the IgG antibodies by ELISA. To set up the cut-off point for ELISA, we used a commercial latex agglutination (LA) kit. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA against LA test were 89.5%, and 98.6% respectively. Among 1,109 sera, 6.9% showed seropositivity by ELISA. The positive rates of males and females were 6.0% and 7.2%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences between sexes. Comparing the age groups, the highest seropositive rate showed in the seventies or higher, and their rates had a tendency to increase with age (0.05 < p < 0.3). These results revealed that the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in rural inhabitants is similar to previous reports in Korea; however we need further investigation to clarify the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in the general population.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2004

To investigate a population-based survey of the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in South Korea, we performed Papanicolaou smears and tests for HPV DNA and anti-HPV antibody detection in 909 sexually active general women (age range; 20-74 years, median 44 years) who were randomly selected residents from S district of Busan City. The presence of DNA of 36 different HPV types was detected by means of a GP 5+/6+ primer-mediated PCR enzyme immunoassay in cervical exfoliated cells, and IgG antibodies against L1 virus-like particles (anti-VLPs) of 5 HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, and 58 were tested by means of enzyme linked immunoassay. The incidence of cytologic abnormality was 5.2% in Pap smear. The positive rate of HPV DNA was 10.4%, high in young women younger than 35 years old and proportionally increased according to the cytologic grades. The most often found HPV type was HPV 70, followed by HPV 16 and 33, and high-risk HPV types were more frequent in women younger than 35 years old. The most common HPV type in abnormal cytologic smears was HPV 16, followed by HPV 58 and 66. Anti-VLPs was positive in 19.7% and the frequent anti-VLPs type was against HPV 18, followed by HPV 31 and 16. The concordance between the markers for each specific HPV type was noted in 10 women and HPV 16 was the most frequent one. The incidence of multiple HPV infection was 18.9% and that of multiple anti-VLPs antibodies was 31%. Among 103 self-reported virgins, 4.9% had anti-VLP antibodies.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 2008

In total, 1,142 serum samples were collected from 223 goat flocks rising in five different regions of Korea. These samples were screened for the presence of border disease virus (BDV) antibodies using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Of the 1,142 samples, we found 47 bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) positive cases (4.1%). These positive serum samples were also examined further by using the virus neutralization test against BDV. In addition, samples were tested for both BVDV and classical swine fever virus (CSFV). All of the samples that were seropositive for BDV also demonstrated positive antibody titers against BVDV and CSFV. Due to their common antigenicity, we also determined further the prevalence and carried out virus neutralization test against three pestiviruses: 314 of the goat samples were screened using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with primer pairs specific to common pestivirus genome regions. Overall, 1.6% (5/314) of the samples tested was positive for pestivirus. Based on the nucleotide sequence data and the phylogenetic analysis, three isolates were characterized as BVDV type 1 and two isolates as BVDV type 2. However, none of the isolates could be classified as BDV. These results indicate that BVDV-1 and BVDV-2 are the pestivirus strains circulating among Korean goat populations.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2013

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the pathogen of paratuberculosis called Johne's disease. Johne's disease is hardly eliminated because of its long latent period and continuous dissemination, so it is found in ruminants worldwide and can cause substantial economic losses in cattle. It has been reported in many studies on the distribution of Johne's disease in some provinces of Korea that not many, but noticeable numbers of infected cows have been detected since the first detection in 1984. The aims of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Johne's disease obtained from slaughtered cattle in central area of Gyeongnam province, Korea. In this study, the ELISA serum antibody test and PCR were employed on a total of 240 blood and ileac substrate samples from slaughtered cattle in two slaughtering and wholesale centers in Gyeongsangnam-do Livestock Veterinary Research Institute Central Branch. Out of the entire 240 blood samples, three (1.3%) were positive by ELISA, while five (2.1%) were suspected cattle. But ileac substrate samples, eight (3.3%) were positive by PCR. By breeds, positive rates of ELISA and PCR in Korean native cattle were 1.3% and 3.5%, respectively, but no positive cows were found in dairy cattle. By provinces, sero-positive rates of Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk were 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively. And PCR positive rates of Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk and other provinces were 2.4%, 5.0% and 2.8%, respectively. These results indicate that it requires the nationwide monitoring test and measure to deal with subclinically infected slaughtering cows.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1553-1558
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• 2015

Background: COX-2 has been shown to play an important role in the development of breast cancer and increased expression has been mooted as a poor prognostic factor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between COX-2 immunohistochemical expression and known predictive and prognostic factors in breast cancer in a routine diagnostic histopathology setting. Materials and Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour tissue of 144 no special type (NST) invasive breast carcinomas histologically diagnosed between January 2009 and December 2012 in Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Kedah were immunostained with COX-2 antibody. COX-2 overexpression was analysed against demographic data, hormone receptor status, HER2-neu overexpression, histological grade, tumour size and lymph node status. Results: COX-2 was overexpressed in 108/144 (75%) tumours and was significantly more prevalent (87%) in hormone receptor-positive tumours. There was no correlation between COX-2 overexpression and HER2/neu status. Triple negative cancers had the lowest prevalence (46%) (p<0.05). A rising trend of COX-2 overexpression with increasing age was observed. There was a significant inverse relationship with tumour grade (p<0.05), prevalences being 94%, 83% and 66% in grades 1, 2 and 3 tumours, respectively. A higher prevalence of COX-2 overexpression in smaller size tumours was observed but this did not reach statistical significance. There was no relationship between COX-2 expression and lymph node status. Conclusions: This study did not support the generally held notion that COX-2 overexpression is linked to poor prognosis, rather supporting a role in tumorigenesis. Larger scale studies with outcome data and basic studies on cancer pathogenetic pathways will be required to cast further light on whether COX-2 inhibitors would have clinical utility in cancer prevention or blockage of cancer progression. In either setting, the pathological assessment for COX-2 overexpression in breast cancers would have an important role in the selection of cancer patients for personalized therapy with COX-2 inhibitors.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.451-465
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• 1998

The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of brucellosis in Kyungbuk area for the 3 years from 1966 to 1998. Collective milk samples were routinely screened to detect positive farms by using the milk ring test(MRT), and serum agglutination test was performed to detect sero-positive individuals in the MRT positive farms. Attempt were made to isolate the causative organismas from slaughtered sero-positive reactors and some biochemical and polymerase chain reation characters of the isolates were also made to identify the organisms. Seroprevalence to brucellosis in peoples who are close contact with infected dairy herds was also investigated. Brucellosis of dairy cattle was rare before 1997, but has been broken more frequently since early 1998. By the MRT for dairy herds, positive rate was gradually increased every year : 0.6% in 1996, 1.5% in 1997, 3.9% in 1998. Among 262 MRT-positive herds, only 21 herds(8.0%) showed positive brucellosis in serological test. The isolation rates of Brucella sp from tested materials were 51.2% in supramammary glands, 39.5% in milks, and 50.0% in pulmonary Iymphnode, respectively. Isolated strain and biotype were Brucella(B) arbortus biotype 1 in 26 heads, and were B suis biotype 1 in 2 heads. Isolated strain and vaccine strain were very similar in their colony morphology and staining. In drug susceptibility, isolated stains(B abortus) and vaccine strain(B abortus RB-51) were sensitive to ampicillin, gentamycin, kanamycin, neomycin, penicillin, streptomycin, and to tetracycline, but resistant to erythromycin. In the PCR, field strains reacted to BA and IS711 primers, and vaccine strain reacted to BA, IS711, and RB5l primers. In the plate agglutination test of 96 sera of human contacted with animals, serum antibody titer detected 1 : 100 in one person, 1 : 200 in one, and below 1 : 25 in the others.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.126-134
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• 2022

Norovirus (NoV) is an important pathogen causing acute gastroenteritis worldwide. The purpose of the present study was the molecular characterization of NoV. A total of 408 stool specimens collected from hospitalized children associated with acute gastroenteritis in Chiang Rai, Thailand, 2015-2017 were investigated for the presence of NoVs by RT-PCR. NoV GII was detected in 32 samples (7.8%). Five distinct genotypes were identified, including GII.4 (13/32, 40.6%), GII.3 (11/32, 34.3%), GII.17 (4/32, 12.5%), GII.2 (2/32, 6.3%), and GII.14 (2/32, 6.3%). NoV infection occurred mostly in young children under 3 years of age (31/32, 96.9%) and showed the main peak in summer months from March to April (18/32, 56.3%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all 13 GII.4 strains clustered with GII.4 Sydney 2012 variant. Representative GII.3 strains were analyzed as a recombinant GII.3P[12] strain. Several amino acid differences were found in the antigenic epitopes and antibody binding sites of the VP1 capsid of the GII.3P[12]. Homology modeling of the P domain of the GII.3P[12] strain demonstrated that 10/13 amino acid differences were predicted to be located on the surface-exposed area of the capsid structure. These amino acid changes might affect the infectivity and the antigenicity of the recombinant GII.3P[12]. The prevalence of GII.4 Sydney 2012 and recombinant GII.3P[12] strains indicates the genetic diversity of circulating NoVs in Thailand, emphazing the importance of continuous surveillance to mornitor newly emerging NoV strains in the future.