• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2021

This study investigated the patterns of acquiring anti-mycobacterial resistance in individuals who were susceptible to all anti-mycobacterial drugs in their initial treatment. From 2010 to 2019, anti-mycobacterial drug susceptibility tests were conducted on patients who were referred to the Green Cross Laboratories. The test results of 594 anti-mycobacterial drug sensitivity tests were collected at 111 medical institutions. The first test results had 594 cases in which all anti-mycobacterial drugs were susceptible. Isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF), streptomycin (SM), and quinolone (QUI) showed the highest single-resistant conversion rates. Out of 56 patients, 17 patients (30.4%) showed a high conversion rate of resistance to both INH and RIF. The tracking period was analyzed from a minimum of 98 days to 1,862 days, and an average of 435.6 days for INH, and a minimum of 108 days to 1,673 days, with an average of 457.7 days for RIF. In the case of tuberculosis patients who are susceptible to all anti-mycobacterial drugs, it is considered that the conversion to resistant and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) must be confirmed through an anti-mycobacterial susceptibility test after 3 months. It is hoped that this study will help the national tuberculosis management project to improve public health.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2022

The prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) are increasing. We analyzed the patterns of drug resistance and tracking period days of acquiring anti-mycobacterial resistance. From January 2010 to December 2019, drug susceptibility tests (DST) were performed by the absolute concentration method using the Löwenstein-Jensen solid medium and pyrazinamidase activity test (to assess pyrazinamide resistance) in samples from patients who were referred to the Green Cross Laboratories in Yongin. Among the cases that showed resistance to one or more anti-tuberculosis drugs, 55 patients (33.1%) were resistant to isoniazid (INH) at the time of initial referral, and the rates for the development of resistant anti-tuberculosis drugs were ethambutol (EMB) (26.6%), rifampicin (RFP) (21.9%), quinolones (QUI) (21.9%) and pyrazinamide (PZA) (10.9%), in that order. In the cases sensitive to all 10 anti-tuberculosis drugs initially, the development of resistance to INH was the most frequent, seen in 43 patients (7.2%). The average follow-up period was 435.6 days, and the resistance development was observed in the order of INH (7.2%), RFP (3.9%), SM (1.9%), QUI (0.7%), amikacin (AMK) (0.5%), and EMB (0.5%). The conversion of susceptible strains to resistant strains is an important warning sign for the patient, especially in cases of conversion to MDR or XDR. This information would be helpful for improving patient care during TB treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.745-750
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• 2004

The objective of this collaborative study was to establish a Korean standard of Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine (mouse brain-derived, formalin-inactivated) for potency assay. A candidate preparation proposed as a Korean standard was provided by GreenCross Vaccine, and six laboratories, including one national control laboratory and five manufacturers of JE vaccine, participated in the study. The potency of the candidate preparation and a reference standard obtained from Japan was estimated by mouse immunogenicity assay using the in vitro plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). The results of 72 assays conducted by the 6 laboratories showed that the overall mean potency estimate of the candidate preparation was 2.455 log median plaque reduction neutralization antibody titer per 0.5-ml dosage administered twice in mice at 7-day intervals, and that the mean potency ratio of the candidate preparation relative to the reference standard was 1.074. The potency estimates were quite variable among laboratories irrespective of the preparation. The variability of assays assessed by Z scores and coefficient of variation (CV) were in general within the level of acceptance (Z scores within $\pm3$ and $CV\;\leq\;15%$). Therefore, we concluded that the candidate preparation would be suitable as a national standard for testing the potency of JE vaccine (inactivated).

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 2003

A HEV evaluation program, funded by ADEME, was carried out by a group of Laboratories of different specialties in order to evaluate and compare consumption, emission and component technologies of the three first HEVs put on the market (Toyota Prius, Nissan Tino and Honda Insight). This paper presents the results obtained until now. These results show good consumption and emission performance of the tested vehicles compared to conventional ones. The energy management seems to be globally the same for the three vehicles excepting for cold stans where the Insight allows a very earlier stop of the engine compared to the Tino and especially to the Prius. A mapping of the engine consumption of the Prius and the Insight was performed in order to furnish data for the simulation models. The Permanent Magnet motors of the Prius and Tino have different number of pair poles and then different emf at a given speed. The low emf values of the Prius allow operation at high speed with less field weakening control than for the Tino. The inverters of the Prius and the Tino, controlled by a PWM at respectively 5 kHz and 7 kHz switching frequency, are made of IGBTs with high commutation performances.

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2017

Lipoid congenital adrenal hyperplasia (LCAH) is the severe form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and is characterized by adrenal insufficiency with hyperpigmentation and female external genitalia irrespective of genetic sex. The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) is required for the transport of cholesterol into the mitochondria for steroidogenesis, and defects in the StAR gene account for the majority of LCAH cases. In this report, we present a two-day-old hyperpigmented infant with phenotypical female genitalia. With consideration of the clinical and laboratory findings, the infant was suspected of having adrenal insufficiency due to LCAH and treated with glucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, and sodium chloride. Karyotyping revealed 46, XY. Upon pelvis ultrasonography, adrenal hyperplasia with abdominal masses (thought to be the testicles) was reported. Molecular analysis with targeted exome sequencing revealed the homozygote mutation of c.772C>T ($p.Q258^*$) in exon 7 of the StAR gene. The early detection and treatment of adrenal insufficiency in infants with hyperpigmentation can prevent clinically apparent adrenal crises. During follow-up, the patient had a good clinical condition and maintained normal electrolyte and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels with medication.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.53-63
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• 2014

Caltech's Linde-Robinson Laboratory was originally built in 1932 featuring a Spanish mission-style design, whose function was to facilitate a solar observatory with a coelostat solar telescope dome and a solar shaft extending from the roof to more than 36.58m below the ground. The building has now been transformed into a cutting-edge center for research and instruction in global environmental science that retains its original character while setting new standards in energy efficiency and green design. It is the first LEED Platinum lab in the USA for renovation of a historical research building, consuming only one-sixth of the energy that the lab's comparable laboratories do. This work introduces various energy and environmental strategies hired for its sustainable rehabilitation and, especially, examines the functional validity of solar telescope daylighting by a coelostat. Observations were made on the llumination of underground floors, where illuminances of 40~50 lx were measured.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.61-65
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• 2021

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma is rare, low-grade malignant neoplasm that compromises approximately 1% of all salivary gland neoplasms. We reported a 68-year-old woman with epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma in the parotid gland. We analyzed demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of salivary gland epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma which has been reported in 33 cases in Korea from 1992 to 2017, and compared this result to overseas retrospective cohort studies. There was no significance in terms of mean age at diagnosis, the predominance of females, low frequency in regional lymph nodes, and distant metastasis between the two groups. However, T classification and AJCC stage at diagnosis in domestic cases are more advanced than those of overseas cases. Although the recurrence rate in domestic cases has been reported lower than that of overseas, further study may be needed considering that the follow-up period after treatment is short in domestic cases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.146-154
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• 2010

Background: The increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has become a serious worldwide problem. However, there is insufficient data regarding the current status of MDR-TB and XDR-TB in Korea. This study examined the recent status of MDR- and XDR-TB using the data from 7 laboratories, in which almost all drug susceptibility tests (DST) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were performed. Methods: The patients' identification data and DST results were collected from all 7 laboratories from 2001 to 2006 and the number of patients with MDR-TB and XDR-TB were calculated. Results: The number of DSTs was 140,638 for 6 years with an increasing incidence each year (p<0.001). The number of DST with MDR results was 18,510 and personal identifying information was obtained in 16,640 (89.9%) tests. The number of MDR-TB patients from 2001 to 2006 was 2,329, 2,496, 2,374, 2,300, 2,354, and 2,178, respectively, when counting the duplications in a year as one patient. The number of MDR-TB patients when counting the duplications in 6 years as one patient was 2,281, 1,977, 1,620, 1,446, 1,512, and 1,373, respectively. When the same method was adopted, the number of XDR-TB patients was 191, 238, 282, 260, 272, and 264, respectively, and 189, 150, 130, 90, 122, and 110 patients, respectively. Conclusion: Despite the national efforts to control TB, there are still a large number of MDR- and XDR-TB patients in Korea.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.230-235
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• 1996

The interaction of ${\alpha}-ketoglutarate$ dehydrogenase complex (${\alpha}-KGDC$) with a hydrophobic fluorescent probe [1,1'-bi(4-aniline)naphthalene-5,5'-disulfonic acid] (bis-ANS) was studied. The punfied ${\alpha}-KGDC$ was potently inhibited by bis-ANS with an apparent half maximal inhibitory concentration ($IC_{50}$) of 9.8 ${\mu}m$ at pH 8.0. The catalytic activities of both the E1o and E2o subunits were predominantly inhibited while that of the E3 component was hardly affected. The binding of bis-ANS to the enzyme caused a marked enhancement and blue shift from 523 nm to 482 nm in the fluorescence emission spectrum. The dissociation constant ($K_d$) and the number of binding sites (n) were calculated to be 0.87 mM and 158, respectively. Allosteric regulators such as purine nucleotides and divalent cations further increased the fluorescence intensity of the $bis-ANS-{\alpha}-KGDC$ binary complex. These data suggest that the binding of these allosteric regulators to ${\alpha}-KGDC$ may cause the conformational changes in the enzyme and that bis-ANS could be used as a valuable probe to study the interaction of the multi-enzyme complex and its allosteric regulators.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.17 no.sup
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• pp.21-34
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• 2011

In this study, researches on the development of country specific greenhouse gas measurement and sampling methods from the livestock sector were reviewed. Research on greenhouse gas emission factors was started in early 2000 but was not actively involved in the development of livestock sector based emission factor: since 2009, works are underway for the development of livestock sector based emission factor. Most of the research on greenhouse gas emission in the field of animal studies were done by National Institute of Animal Science, because of the uniqueness of the research laboratories. Methods of emission measurement are still not internationally certified and therefore, measurement and sampling methods for Korea livestock sector are being studied, consulting the worldwide research trends. Flux chamber method are commonly using in Korea for green house gas emission factors measurement. In recent years, continuous measurement of the microclimate was introduced to measure greenhouse gases from livestock manure storage facilities and the micrometeorology method should be adapted as recommended by Intergovernmental Penal on Climate Change (IPCC) Guideline.