• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 1985

An immunoassay may be defined as an analytical procedure involving the competitive reaction between a limiting concentration of specific antibody and two populations of antigen, one of which is labelled or immobillized. The advent of immunoassay has revolutionised our knowledge of reproductive physiology and the practice of veterinary and clinical medicine. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was the first of these methods to be developed, which meausred the analyte with good sensitivity, accuracy and precision (1,2). The essential components of RIA are:-(i) a limited concentration of antibodies, (ii) a reference preparation, and (iii) an antigen labelled with a radioisotope (usually tritium or iodine-125). Most procedures invelove isolating the antibody-bound fraction and measuring the amount of labelled antigen. Good facilities are available for scintilltion counting, data reduction nd statistical analysis. RIA is undergoing refinement through:-(i) the introduction of new techniques to separate the antibody-bound and free fractions which minimize the misclassification of labelled antigen into these compartments, and the amount of non-specfic binding. (3), (ii) the development of non-extration for the measurement of haptens (4), (iii) the determination of a, pp.rent free (i.e. non-protein bound) analytes (5), and (iv) the use of monoclonal antibodies(6). In 1968, Miles and Hales introduced in important new type of immunoassay which they termed immunora-diometric assay (IRMA) based on t도 use of isotopically labelled specific antibodies(7) in a move from limited to excess reagent systems. The concept of two-site IRMAs (with a capture antibody on a solid-phase, and a second labelled antibody to a different antigenic determinant of the analyte) has enabled the development of more sensitive and less-time consuming methods for the measurement of protein hormones ovar wide concentration of analyte (8). The increasing use of isotopic methos for diverse a, pp.ications has exposed several problems. For example, the radioactive half-life and radiolysis of the labelled reagent limits assay sensitivity and imposes a time limit on the usefulness of a kit. In addition, the potential health hazards associated with the use and disposal of radioactive cmpounds and the solvents and photofluors necessary for liquid scientillation counting are incompatable with the development of extra-laboratory tests. To date, the most practical alternative labels to radioisotopes, for the measurement of analytes in a concentration > 1 ng/ml, are erythrocytes, polystyrene particiles, gold sols, dyes and enzymes or cofactors with a visual or colorimetric end-point(9). Increased sensitivity to<1 pg/ml may be obtained with fluorescent and chemiluminescent labels, or enzymes with a fluorometric, chemiluminometric or bioluminometric end-point. The sensitivity of any immunoassay or immunometric assay depends on the affinity of the antibody-antigen reaction, the specific activity of the label, the precision with which the reagents are manipulated and the nonspecific background signal (10). The sensitivity of a limited reagent system for the measurement of haptens or proteins is mainly dependent upon the affinity of the antibodies and the smalleest amount of reagent that may be manipulated. Consequently, it is difficult in practice to improve on the sensitivity obtained with iodine-125 as the label. Conversely, with excess reagent systems for the measurement of proteins it is theoretically possible to increase assay sensitivity at least 1000 fold with alternative luminescent labels. To date, a 10-fold improvement has been achieved, and attempts are being made to reduce the influence of other variables on the specific signal from the immunoreaction.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.715-732
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• 2009

This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2008. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) Research trends in thermal and fluid engineering have been surveyed in the categories of general fluid flow, fluid machinery and piping, new and renewable energy, and fire. Well-developed CFD technologies were widely applied in developing facilities and their systems. New research topics include fire, fuel cell, and solar energy. Research was mainly focused on flow distribution and optimization in the fields of fluid machinery and piping. Topics related to the development of fans and compressors had been popular, but were no longer investigated widely. Research papers on micro heat exchangers using nanofluids and micro pumps were also not presented during this period. There were some studies on thermal reliability and performance in the fields of new and renewable energy. Numerical simulations of smoke ventilation and the spread of fire were the main topics in the field of fire. (2) Research works on heat transfer presented in 2008 have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, industrial heat exchangers, and ground heat exchangers. Research on heat transfer characteristics included thermal transport in cryogenic vessels, dish solar collectors, radiative thermal reflectors, variable conductance heat pipes, and flow condensation and evaporation of refrigerants. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, examined are research on micro-channel plate heat exchangers, liquid cooled cold plates, fin-tube heat exchangers, and frost behavior of heat exchanger fins. Measurements on ground thermal conductivity and on the thermal diffusion characteristics of ground heat exchangers were reported. (3) In the field of refrigeration, many studies were presented on simultaneous heating and cooling heat pump systems. Switching between various operation modes and optimizing the refrigerant charge were considered in this research. Studies of heat pump systems using unutilized energy sources such as sewage water and river water were reported. Evaporative cooling was studied both theoretically and experimentally as a potential alternative to the conventional methods. (4) Research papers on building facilities have been reviewed and divided into studies on heat and cold sources, air conditioning and air cleaning, ventilation, automatic control of heat sources with piping systems, and sound reduction in hydraulic turbine dynamo rooms. In particular, considered were efficient and effective uses of energy resulting in reduced environmental pollution and operating costs. (5) In the field of building environments, many studies focused on health and comfort. Ventilation. system performance was considered to be important in improving indoor air conditions. Due to high oil prices, various tests were planned to examine building energy consumption and to cut life cycle costs.