• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.207-216
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• 2020

Purpose: To compare the polishing characteristics and their influence on Candida albicans adhesion to the recently introduced polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) and the conventional polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) denture resin material. Materials and methods: Specimens from PEKK (Group E) and PMMA (Group M) were made in dimensions of 8 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness. The specimens were further divided into sub-groups according to the extent of polishing (ER, MR: rough; EP, MP: polished, N = 12 each). The specimens were polished using polishing machine and SiC foil. ER and MR group specimens were polished with 600 grit SiC foil only. EP and MP groups were further polished with 800, 1,000, 1,200 grit SiC foils sequentially. To measure the surface roughness values (Sa) of specimens, atomic force microscope (AFM) was used and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation under 1,000, and 20,000 magnifications was performed to investigate surface topography. The polished specimens were soaked in C. albicans suspension for 2 hours with shaking to promote adhesion. The attached C. albicans were detached from the surface with 10 times of pipetting. The suspension of detached C. albicans was performed by serial dilution to 10³ times, and the diluted suspensions were inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar plates using spread plate method. After incubating the plate for 48 hours, colony forming unit (CFU)/plate of C. albicans was counted. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test to confirm significant difference between the groups (α=.05). Results: Average Sa value was significantly higher in MR group compared to other groups (P<.05), meaning that additional polishing steps reduced surface roughness effectively only in the PMMA specimens. There was no significant difference in Sa values between MP and EP groups. In SEM images, PEKK specimens showed numerous spikes of abraded material protruding from the surface and this phenomenon was more significant in EP group. The mean CFU/plate value was the highest in EP group and this was significant when it was compared to MP group (P<.05) which was the lowest. Conclusion: Polishing PEKK using serial SiC abrasive foil may result in higher adhesion of C. albicans. In clinic, this should be considered carefully.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2010

As the causative agent of Anthrax, Bacillus anthracis causes an acute fatal disease in herbivores such as cattle, sheep, and horses as well as humans. The therapeutics and prevention of anthrax currently available are based on antibiotics and the live attenuated vaccine strains, which may be problematic due to the emergency of antibiotic resistant strains or residual virulence in those vaccine strains. Therefore, it has been required to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines which are safer and applicable to humans. Recently, the development of the multivalent vaccine targeting both spores and vegetative cells of B. anthracis along with anthrax toxin has been reported. In our attempts to screen potential candidates for those multivalent vaccines, the whole genomic expression library of B. anthracis was constructed in this study. To the end, the partial digests of the genomic DNA from B. anthracis (ATCC 14578) with Sau3AI were ligated with the inducible pET30abc expression vectors, resulting in approximately $1{\times}10^5$ clones in E. coli BL21(DE3). The redundancy test by DNA nucleotide sequencing was performed for the randomly selected 111 clones and found 56 (50.5%) B. anthracis genes, 17 (15.3%) vector sequences, and 38 (34.2%) unknown genes with no sequence homology by BLAST. An inducible expression of the recombinant proteins was confirmed by Western blot. Interestingly, some clones could react with the antiserum against B. anthracis. These results imply that the whole genomic library constructed in this study can be applied for analyzing the immunomes of B. anthracis.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.284-292
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• 2016

Water supplied through dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) has been shown to contain high number of bacteria. To reduce the contamination of DUWLs, it is essential to develop effective disinfectants. It is, however, difficulty to obtain proper DUWL samples for studies. The purpose of this study was to establish a simple laboratory model for reproducing DUWL biofilms. The bacteria obtained from DUWLs were cultured in R2A liquid medium for 10 days, and then stored at $-70^{\circ}C$. This stock was inoculated into R2A liquid medium and incubated in batch mode. After 5 days of culturing, it was inoculated into the biofilm formation model developed in this study. Our biofilm formation model comprised of a beaker containing R2A liquid medium and five glass rods attached to DUWL polyurethane tubing. Biofilm was allowed to form on the stir plate and the medium was replaced every 2 days. After 4 days of biofilm formation in the laboratory model, biofilm thickness, morphological characteristics and distribution of the composing bacteria were examined by confocal laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The mean of biofilm accumulation was $4.68{\times}10^4$ colony forming unit/$cm^2$ and its thickness was $10{\sim}14{\mu}m$. In our laboratory model, thick bacterial lumps were observed in some parts of the tubing. To test the suitability of this biofilm model system, the effectiveness of disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and chlorhexidine, was examined by their application to the biofilm formed in our model. Lower concentrations of disinfectants were less effective in reducing the count of bacteria constituting the biofilm. These results showed that our DUWL biofilm laboratory model was appropriate for comparison of disinfectant effects. Our laboratory model is expected to be useful for various other purposes in further studies.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2007

Purpose : Suprapubic aspiration(SPA) has been considered the "gold standard" for obtaining urine in non-toilet trained infants. Ultrasound(US)-guided SPA improves the success rate of the procedure and reduces the complications. However, many physicians perceive SPA as invasive and prefer the use of urethral catheterization (Ucat). We compared the success rate, complications and accuracy of US-guided SPA and Ucat. Methods : 121 infants who visited Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital with suspected urinary tract infection(UTI) were investigated. For the first study, the study infants were randomly assigned to either the US-guided SPA(n=32) or Ucat(n=32) groups. The success rate and complications of both procedures were compared. For the second study, US-guided SPA and Ucat were performed simultaneously(n=57). The accuracy of urethral catheterization was subsequently analyzed. The criteria for success was defined as the collection of more than 0.5 mL of urine. UTI was diagnosed by the presence of uropathogens over 105 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. Results : The overall success rate of the US-guided SPA was 96.9%(71.9% in first attempts, 25.0% in second attempts) which was not significantly different compared to 96.9%(90.6% in first attempts, 6.3% in second attempts) in the Ucat(P>0.05) group. The aspirated urine volume was $7.4{\pm}3.7mL$ in the US-guided SPA group, which was not significantly different to $4.5{\pm}2.6mL$ in the Ucat(P>0.05) group. The accuracy of Ucat in comparison to the US guided SPA was low with sensitivity 59.5%, specificity 86.6%, false-positive rate 13.3% and false-negative rate 40.5%. Conclusion : US-guided SPA should be encouraged as the best method to collect the urine in non-toilet trained infants with UTI.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.208-216
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• 2004

Purpose: DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a serine/threonine kinase consisting of a 470 kDa catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and a heterodimeric regulatory complex, called Ku, which is composed of 70 kDa(Ku 70) and 86 kDa (Ku 80) proteins. The DNA-PK has been shown to play a pivotal role in rejoining DNA double-strand-breaks (dsb) in mammalian cells. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the level of Ku expression and radiation sensitivity. Methods and Materials: Nine head and neck, cancer cell lines showed various intrinsic radiation sensitivities. Among the nine, AMC-HN-3 cell was the most sensitive for X-ray irradiation and AMC-HN-9 cell was the most resistance. The most sensitive and resistant cell lines were selected and the test sensitivity of radiation and expression of Ku were measured. Radiation sensitivity was obtained by colony forming assay and Ku protein expression using Western blot analysis. Results: Ku80 increased expression by radiation, wheres Ku70 did not. Overexpression of Ku80 protein increased radiation resistance in AMC-HN9 cell line. There was a correlation between Ku8O expression and radiation resistance. Ku80 was shown to play an important role in radiation damage response. Conclusion: Induction of Ku80 expression had an important role in DNA damage repair by radiation. Ku80 expression may be an effective predictive assay of radiosensitivity on head and neck cancer.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.127-137
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• 2007

To confirm whether or not the Electrochemical Disinfection System (EDS) meet with the D-2 regulation established by IMO (International Maritime Organization), the biological treatment efficacy of the EDS was assessed using three groups of natural marine plankton (bacteria, $10-50\;{\mu}m$ and $>50\;{\mu}m$ sized organisms). Influent water was passed through the EDS under the flow velocity ($23.8\;m^3/hr$) and test design was consisted of control (no treatment) and experimental (10 ppm and 30 ppm) condition for total residual chlorine (TRC). And the biological condition of the influent water followed the standards established by the guidelines for the approval of ballast water management systems. The disinfection efficacy of the $10-50\;{\mu}m$ sized organisms (phytoplankton) was assessed by three kinds of measurements using photomicroscope, epifluorescence microscope and fluorometer (fumer Designs 10-AU). After being passed through the EDS, all motile phytoplankton lost their motility under photomicroscope, the colour of chlorophyll fluorescence fumed from red into green under epifluorescence, and the high chlorophyll fluorescence (Expt. 1: 6.95, Expt. 2: 7.11) detected by fluorometer decreased into value not detected. These results indicated phytoplankton community was totally killed after electrochemical disinfection treatment. Survivorship of the larger organisms than $50\;{\mu}m$ was determined based on the appendage's movement under a stereomicroscope. Natural assemblage collected from ambient seawater was killed shortly after being passed through the EDS, whereas some Artemia remained alive. However, no live Artemia was found after 24 hour further exposure to each TRC concentration (10 and 30 ppm) under darkness. After electrochemical treatment, the target bacteria such as aerobes, coliform and Escherichia coli were completely killed on the basis of CFU (colony forming unit) on Petrifilm plate ($3\;M^{TM}$) after 48 hr incubation. Moreover, no regrowth was found in the three groups of plankton during five days under additional exposure to the treated water. These results indicated that the disinfection efficiency of the EDS on the three groups of plankton satisfy D-2 regulation.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2005

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of mineral extract from granite on the performance, ammonia production from the litter, components of blood, Newcastle Disease (ND) titer and intestinal microflora in broiler chickens. Nine hundred sixty one-day-old broiler chickens (Ross) were assigned to five treatments: C; control, Zeolite; control + zeolite 1$\%$, AM10: control + active mineral water $10\%$ adsorbed zeolite $1\%$, AM20; control + active mineral water $20\%$ adsorbed zeolite $1\%$ and AM30; control + active mineral water $30\%$ adsorbed zeolite $1\%$. Each treatment consisted of four replicates with 48 broiler chicks for feeding trial. In order to test the effect of ND vaccine on the components of blood, ND titer and intestinal microflora, a separate group of 48 broiler chicks were assigned to the same 5 treatment as the feeding trial plus one negative control (No ND vaccine). Weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion and mortality were not significantly affected by dietary treatments but AM30 tended to be higher than other treatments in weight gain and feed intake, especially during later period (4 to 5 weeks of age). Ammonia production from the litter of AM30 treatment was significantly (P<0.01) lower than the control. Components of blood and ND titer in serum of broiler chickens were not significantly affected by treatments but MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) of blood was significantly lower (P<0.05) in Zeolite treatment compared to others. The colony forming unit (CFU) of Clostridium perfringens in the small intestinal content of all zeolite and AM treated groups was significantly (P<0.01) lower than the control while the CFU of Escherichia coli was not significantly affected. The CFU of Lactobacilli in AM30 treatment was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the control. In conclusion, dietary supplement of active mineral water adsorbed to zeolite at $30\%$ level (AM30) tended to improve growth performance of broiler chickens and significantly reduced ammonia production from the litter. It also significantly increased CFU of intestinal Lactobacilli.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.322-326
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• 2014

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) recently it was reported that the children (< 5 year-old children) were more susceptible to Foodborne-illness. Confectionery products should be strictly controlled because they are children-preferred foods. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, South of Korea) tried to monitor contamination of organisms in confectionery products (such as biscuits, candies, chewing gums and ice candies) distributed in South Korea. MFDS evaluated the levels of indicator organisms: total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli as well as the levels of food-borne illness organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens. Experimental plans for microbiological test were in accordance with the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF). For this study, 1,005 samples were collected and from Seoul and Gyeongin region, South Korea. The average level of total aerobic bacteria in 1,005 samples was 1.7 log Colony Forming Unit(CFU)/g and the detection rate was 26.8%. The average level of Bacillus cereus was detected in 1.7 log CFU/g and the rate was 0.9%. There was no detection of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. The results of this study will be provided as the basic data to set the reasonable microbiological criteria of Korea Food Code.