• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.501-504
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• 2020

From December 2019, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia (formerly known as the 2019 novel Coronavirus [2019-nCoV]) broke out in Wuhan, China. In this study, we present serial CT findings in a 40-year-old female patient with COVID-19 pneumonia who presented with the symptoms of fever, chest tightness, and fatigue. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection confirmed by real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. CT showed rapidly progressing peripheral consolidations and ground-glass opacities in both lungs. After treatment, the lesions were shown to be almost absorbed leaving the fibrous lesions.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 1980

Shigella remains to be an important enteric pathogen in this country for the moment. Moreover, since 1978, most of the isolates have become resistant to ampicillin and co-trimoxazole, which used to be the drugs of choice for shigellosis. Since a disc diffusion technique alone has been used in our routine susceptibility test, the minimum inhibitory concentrations(MIC) of both ampicillin and co-trimoxazole to Shigella have never been known. In order to determine these, 195 isolates were tested by an agar dilution method, all of which were isolated at Yonsei Medical Center during the period of June 1978 to July 1980. The following results were obtained. 1. Sixty cultures(29.7%) were susceptible to ampicillin, being the MIC of 8 ${\mu}g/ml$ or less and 53(27.2%) were susceptible to co-trimoxazole, being the MIC of TMP/SMZ 4/76 ${\mu}g/ml$ or less. S. flexneri type 2 was often resistant to both antimicrobic agents. 2. An increasing rate of resistant isolates was noted, particularly in the year of 1979. 3. Many isolates were resistant to both agents. Somewhat more cultures. were ampicillin susceptible and co-trimoxazole resistant than the other way around. It seems that the determination of species or even serotypes might be of help sometimes to select proper antimicrobic agent to control the infection. A routine antimicrobic susceptibility test of Shigella to both ampicillin and co-trimoxazole would be advisable for a better selection of chemotherapeutic agent.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.187-193
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• 1997

The in vivo and in vivo antibacterial activity of DW-116, a newly synthesized fluoroquinolone, were compared with those of other quinolones. DW-116 exhibited more potent antibacterial activity than rufloxacin and lower activity than ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in in vivo assay But, DW-116 particularly showed strong activity against the family of staphylococci including methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus and its activity was more active than that of ciprofloxacin. The time-kill curve studies showed rapid bactericidal activity for DW-116. The post-antibiotic effect of DW-116 was observed between 0.66 and 5 hours. The therapeutic efficacy of DW-116 against respiratory infection with P. aeruginosa was as strong as that of ciprofloxacin and its effect against urinary tract in(traction with E. coli was more effective than rufloxacin. The excellent therapeutic efficacy of DW-116 against these local infections is due to its good pharmacokinetic profiles.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.52.1-52.7
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• 2022

This paper reports a presumptive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in a cat. A cat with respiratory disease living with three individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 showed bilateral ground-glass opacities in the lung on X-ray and computed tomography. The clinical swabs were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, but the serum was positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Interstitial pneumonia and prominent type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia were noted on histopathology. Respiratory tissues were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen, but the cat was positive for feline parvovirus DNA. In conclusion, the respiratory disease and associated pathology in this cat could have been due to exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 2001

A primary culture of human fetal hepatocytes was obtained through a therapeutic abortion process at 26 weeks of gestation period. More than $10^8$ cells were seeded on a plastic plate. These hepatocytes were infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). The HBV was purified from serum of one chronic HBV carrier. Transformed hepatocytes were subcultured in a 10% FBS-supplemented medium. The morphology of the transformed cell was epithelial-like. The cells from the first pass showed signs of early proliferation and had a latent period of more than 3 months after 6-7 passages. After the rest period, the transformed cell proliferated actively and they were subcultured every three days. Transformed hepatocytes were characterized by detection of the HBV transcript by RT-PCR. The secretion of virions from transformed cells was investigated by PCR with the cell medium. Two types of virions secreted into the culture medium were examined by using the transmission electron microscope. Another approach to study the secretion of virions in to culture medium was carried out with HBV antibody. HBsAg was detected in the culture medium of transformed cells using ELISA and Western blot analyses. These data suggested that the human fetal hepatocyte cell line has been established by infection of HBV, in which this cell line secreted viral particles into the culture medium.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2014

In total, 170 carrot lines developed in Korea were screened for resistance to Meloidogyne incognita race 1 to select parental genetic resources useful for the development of nematode-resistant carrot cultivars. Using the gall index (GI), gall formation was examined on carrot roots inoculated with approximately 1,000 second-stage juveniles of the nematode 7 weeks after inoculation. Sixty-one carrot lines were resistant (GI ${\leq}1.0$), while the other 109 were susceptible (GI > 1.0) with coefficient of variance (CV) of GI for total carrot lines 0.68, indicating low-variation of GI within the lines examined. The histopathological responses of two carrot plants from resistant and susceptible lines were examined after nematode infection. In susceptible carrots, giant cells formed with no discernible necrosis around the infecting nematodes. In the resistant carrot line, however, no giant cells formed, although modified cells were observed with extensive formation of necrotic layers through their middle lamella and around the infecting nematodes. This suggested that these structural modifications were related to hypersensitive responses governed by the expression of true resistance genes. Therefore, the Korean carrot lines resistant to the nematode infection are potential genetic resources for the development of quality carrot cultivars resistant to M. incognita race 1.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1730-1735
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• 2018

Bacterial pneumonia is one of the most common causes of mortality in Korea. In 2016, the mortality rate from pneumonia was 16,476 deaths per 100,000, which was an 11% increase from the previous year. The aim of our study was to determine the distribution of the bacterial pathogens causing respiratory symptoms in different age groups over a 10-year period. Between January 2008 and September 2017, 1,861 specimens from 1,664 patients admitted to Dankook University Hospital with respiratory symptoms were examined. We used multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect six bacterial pneumonia pathogens: Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. We detected bacterial pneumonia pathogens in 1,281 (68.83%) specimens. Of the 1,709 pathogens detected, S. pneumoniae was the most common (48.57%; n = 830) followed by H. influenzae (40.08%; n = 685). Most infections were found among children younger than 10 years (92.69%; n = 1,584). Although S. pneumoniae was the most common pathogen detected in all age groups, M. pneumoniae infection increased in prevalence with age (p < 0.05). The rate of co-infection was also high among these patients (31.1%; n = 399), which peaked in 2015 (54.55%; n = 42/77). The prevalence of bacterial pneumonia in Cheonan, along with the proportion of co-infections among patients increased over the 10-year study period. The findings will aid the development of treatment and prevention guidelines.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.186-188
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• 2013

This study investigated the prevalence of ectoparasite infestations in the pet rabbits of Daejeon area, Korea. The authors used tape strip test, hair coat combing and otoscopy for diagnosis. Only three species were detected. Cheyletiella parasitovorax was found in 152/251 rabbits (60.6%), Psoroptes cuniculi was found in 7/251 rabbits (2.8%) and Ornithonyssus bacoti was found in 5/251 rabbits (1.9%). C parasitovorax is the highest prevalence among the three species. Co-infection of C. parasitovorax with P. cuniculi was found in 3/251(1.2%). Co-infection of C. parasitovorax with O. bacoti was found in 5/251(1.9%). This study is the first large scale survey of C. parasitovorax, P. cuniculi and O. bacoti in the pet rabbits of Daejeon area, Korea.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.9
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• pp.680-687
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• 2021

Coronavirus disease, COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), has a higher case fatality rate in European countries than in others, especially East Asian ones. One potential explanation for this regional difference is the diversity of the viral infection efficiency. Here, we analyzed the allele frequencies of a nonsynonymous variant rs12329760 (V197M) in the TMPRSS2 gene, a key enzyme essential for viral infection and found a significant association between the COVID-19 case fatality rate and the V197M allele frequencies, using over 200,000 present-day and ancient genomic samples. East Asian countries have higher V197M allele frequencies than other regions, including European countries which correlates to their lower case fatality rates. Structural and energy calculation analysis of the V197M amino acid change showed that it destabilizes the TMPRSS2 protein, possibly negatively affecting its ACE2 and viral spike protein processing.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2019

Trichomoniasis is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, which actually does not exist a vaccine for control or prevention. Thus, the identification of new and potent immunogens in T. vaginalis, which can contribute to the development of a vaccine against this parasite, is necessary. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of a recombinant Transient Receptor Potential-like channel of T. vaginalis (TvTRPV), as a promising immunogen in BALB/c mice. First, TvTRPV was cloned and expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli BL21 cells and purified by nickel affinity. Next, BALB/c mice were immunized and the antibody levels in mice serum and cytokines from the supernatant of macrophages and from co-culture systems were evaluated. Recombinant TvTRPV triggered high levels of specific total IgG in sera from the immunized mice. Also, a statistically significant increase of cytokines: $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ after stimulation with the corresponding antigens in vitro, was identified. Moreover, co-cultures using $CD4^+$ T cells from immunized mice were able to identify higher levels of IL-10 and $IFN-{\gamma}$. These results were useful to validate the immunogenicity of TvTRPV in BALB/c mice, where IL-10-$IFN-{\gamma}$-secreting cells could play a role in infection control, supporting the potential of TvTRPV as a promising target for vaccine against T. vaginalis.