• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1377-1383
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• 2006

Among 46 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates collected in 2004, two imipenem-resistant isolates were obtained from clinical specimens taken from patients hospitalized in Busan, Republic of Korea. Two carbapenemase-producing isolates were further investigated to determine the mechanism of resistance. These isolates were analyzed by antibiotic susceptibility testing, microbiological tests of carbapenemase activity, determination of pI, transconjugation test, enterobacterial repetitive consensus (ERIC)-PCR, and DNA sequencing. Two cases of infection by A. baumannii producing the IMP-1 ${\beta}$-lactamase were detected. The isolates were characterized by a modified cloverleaf synergy test and EDTA-disk synergy test. Isoelectric focusing of crude bacterial extracts revealed nitrocefin-positive bands with a pI value of 9.0. PCR amplification and characterization of the amplicons by direct sequencing indicated that the isolates carried a $bla_{IMP-l}$ determinant. The isolates were characterized by a multidrug resistance phenotype, including penicillins, extended-spectrum cephalosporins, carbapenems, and aminoglycosides. These results indicate that the observed imipenem resistance of two Korean A. baumannii isolates was due to the spread of an IMP-1-producing clone. Our microbiological test of carbapenemase activity is simple to screen class B metallo-${\beta}$-lactamase-producing clinical isolates to determine their clinical impact and to prevent further spread. This study shows that the $bla_{IMP-l}$ resistance determinant, which is emerging in Korea, may become an emerging therapeutic problem, since clinicians are advised not to use extended-spectrum cephalosporins, imipenem, and aminoglycosides. This observation emphasizes the importance of having effective control measures in Asian hospitals, such as early detection of colonized patients, isolation procedures, and a judicious use of antibiotics.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.401-408
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• 2002

Background : Tuberculin skin test is a method to examine M. tuberculosis infection and has been used all over the world. But various factors make it difficult to understand testing results. In 2000, the American Thoracic Society recommended that skin test results should be decided by considering risk factors of the tested. In Korea, high tuberculosis infection rate and BCG vaccination rate make it difficult to differentiate current infection, past infection, and no infection by the skin test. This study was attempted to examine a negative predictive value of the skin test to understand how the skin test acts on deciding administration of anti-tuberculosis drug. Methods : From Mar. 1 to Jul. 31 in 2001, the test was performed for patients hospitalized in Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chunchon, Korea by administering Tuberculin PPD RT23 2 TU (0.1 ml)to them that has been currently used in Korea based on Mantoux method. They were decided to be infected with tuberculosis bacilli by following diagnostic standard: 1) tuberculosis bacilli was cultured in sputum by microbiological diagnostic standard or Acid-fast bacilli was proven on a microscopic examination or 2) tuberculosis bacilli was not proven in the aforesaid microbiological test by clinical diagnostic standard, while there was opinion or symptom suitable for tuberculosis by radiographic or histological standard so the doctor decided to apply the tuberculosis treatment. Results : In this study, total 210 patients except 20 patients (8.7%) among 230 hospitalized patients were evaluated. Their average age was 60±16.8 years, and male-female rate was 1.28 : 1 (male: 118, female: 92). Number of patient, who was diagnosed and decided as tuberculosis, was 53(25.2%). Pulmonary tuberculosis was found in 45 patients (84.9%); 22 patients were decided to be positive in the Acid-fast bacilli smear test by microbiological examination (culture positive: 13, culture negative: 9), and 23 patients were decided to be tuberculosis patients by clinical diagnosis standard. Tuberculosis pleuritis was found in 8 patients (15.1%); 4 patients were diagnosed and decided by histological standard, and 4 patients were decided and treated by clinical standard. In differentiating patients into 'Negative' and 'Positive' by the skin test standard of the American Thoracic Society, negative predictive value 92.3%, positive predictive value 47.3%, sensitivity and specificity were 83%, 68.8%, respectively. Conclusion : In hospitalized respiratory patients, there was high negative predictive vlaue 92.3% by tuberculin skin test, therefore skin test would be a important factor for deciding administration of anti-tuberculosis drug on negative skin test patient.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.3 s.76
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• pp.516-521
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• 2006

The possibility of usage as cosmetic resource of the mycelial culture broth of P. japonica in the mixture of cucumber and grape extracts was investigated. In the effect of collagen synthesis promotion in human fibroblast cells, the culture broth of P. japonica of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0% concentration increased the amount of collagen synthesis than that of control cells. The culture broth increased the SOD activity in the concentration dependant manner of 0.01% to 1.0% in the antioxydation activity test. About 90% of superoxide radical was eliminated by 0.5% concentration of the culture supernatant in the antioxydation test. Anticoagulant quercetin in the course of mycelial growth in the mixture of cucumber and grape extract was accumulated to 15 folds than that of pre-culture. In the skin safety test of the culture broth, there is no any skin damage signal in the tested 30 people. Taken together, we concluded that the culture broth of P. japonica in the mixture of grape and cucumber extracts can be used as a cosmetic resource.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.345-352
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• 1998

The diagnosis of brucellosis is currently based on serological and microbiological tests. However, the microbiological isolation and identification have several disadvantages such as time-consuming and laborious, and the serological methods have been reported to cross-react with antigens other than those from Brucella spp. To develop a sensitive and rapid diagnostic method for detection of Brucella species, the genus-specific primers were designed and synthesized from the sequence of gene encoding a 31kDa cell surface protein(BCSP) and a 36kDa outer membrane protein(OMPB) of B abortus. The amplified 711bp and 982bp DNA fragments were only visible in each species of Brucella by PCR method using the BCSP and OMPB primers, respectively. However, PCR product was not obtained with DNA from other Gram-negative bacteria. As little as 1pg of the B abortus genomic DNA could be detected by this PCR method. Using the PCR technique, semen samples from 185 bulls of Brucella-seronegative herds in Cheju island were examined for comparison of this PCR method with conventional methods in 1995. The semen samples from 5 bulls were positive by culture method and PCR, and one was positive and 5 were suspect by semen plasma agglutination test. However, the semen samples obtained from 177 bulls were negative by semen plasma agglutination, culture and PCR methods in 1996. The results of comparison tests suggested that PCR was a better test than agglutination test against semen of bulls. This study indicated that the PCR technique was a valuable for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis, particulary in bull semens.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 1997

One of the most important prerequisites of the industrial microorganism is that it should not be virulent to humans or economically important animals or plants. In this investigation, the microbiological characterization of T. madida N-5-3 strain was performed. And then, the virulence of the test strain in mouse model was examined systematically. The microbiological characteristics of the test strain were found to be fully consistent with those of typical T. madida. The i.p. lethal dose(LD)$_{50}$ of the test strain was greater than 1$\times$10$^8$, because there was no dead animal with the challenge doses upto the level of 1$\times$10$^8$. When 1$\times$10$^8$ yeast cells were challenged to the laboratory mice, T. madida N-5-3 strain was completely cleared from the liver and spleen in 4 days after challenge. And no pathological changes in the histological examination of the internal organs from challenged mice was observed. Above results can provide the predictability of the safety of T. madida N-5-3 strain for the industrial use in the view point of the public health aspect.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-321
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• 1987

For the investigation of microbiological and immunological specificity of Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides gingivalis were isolated, enumerated and characterized from 13 Korean rapidly progressive periodontitis and 7 healthy control by anaerobic culture technique. The total proportion of black-pigmented Bacteroides from Korean R.P.P. patients and healthy control were 8.78% and 0.92%, respectively, among total isolated black-pigmented Bacteroides. In antibiotic susceptibility test, Bacteroides gingivalis isolated from R.P.P. patients were sensitive to Ampicillin and Tetracycline, and resistant to Gentamicin and Erythromycin in disc diffusion method. In antibiotic broth dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) to Bacteroides gingivalis was 2 unit/ml of Penicillin and $0.25{\sim}1{\mu}g/ml$ of Tetracycline, respectively. The concentration of serum IgG in rapidly progressive periodontitis patients were sigificantly higher than that of healthy control, and concentration of diluted gingival crevicular IgG has not any significant differences between two groups. Serum and gingival crevicular IgG antibody to Bacteroides gingivalis were significantly higher titer in rapidly progressive periodontitis patients to compare with healthy control. The lipopolysaccharide profiles of 2 Korean B. gingivalis in silver stained sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were similar to type strains of B. gingivalis and typical LPS band were appeared around the 24-Kd molecular weight. Immunodiffusion test and immunoelectrophoresis of the L.P.S. extracted from 2 Korean B. gingivalis and 2 kinds of type strains of B. gingivalis showed that B. gingivalis Korean-1 was reacted identically to B. gingivalis ATCC 33277. In trypsin and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity test of 2 Korean B. gingivalis, both of them revealed positive trypsin and negative ${\alpha}$-glucosidase activity, respectively. These investigation suggested that B. gingivalis is important pathogenic plaque bacteria for the pathogenesis of periodontitis and further study is needed to purify and characterize of the species-specific antigens of this organisms to develop monoclonal antibody and potential diagnostic reagents.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.274-281
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• 2002

The competitive quantitative PCR method targeting pcbC gene was developed for monitoring 4-chlorobiphenyl(4CB)-degrading bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12, in soil microcosms. The method involves extraction of DNA from soil contaminated with 4CB, PCR amplification of a pcbC gene fragment from the introduced strain with a set of strain-specific primers, and quantification of the elec-trophoresed PCR product by densitometry. To test the adequacy of the method, Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was introduced into both contaminated and non-contaminated soil microcosms amended with 4CB. Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ-12 was monitored and quantified by a competitive quantitative PCR in comparison with 4CB degradation and the result was compared to those obtained by using the conventional cultivation method. We successfully detected and monitored 4CB-degrading bacteria in each microcosm and found a significant linear relationship between the number of 4CB-degrading bacteria and the capacity for 4CB biodegradation. The results of DNA spiking and cell-spreading experiments suggest that this competitive quantitative PCR method targeting the pcbC gene for monitoring 4CB- degrading bacteria appears to be rapid, sensitive and more suitable than the microbiological approach in estimating the capacity of 4CB biodegradation in environmental samples.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2006

This experiment was performed to identify the improvement of raw milk quality after introducing raw milk grading system(1993, June). The purpose of this experiment was to investigate chemical component and microbiological quality of raw milk in jeju. This experiment made it possible to spread high standard of quality of raw milk or milk product including yoghurt, ice cream etc., and to provide dairy industry information for the construction of Jeju international free city master plan. As a result, automatic milking system is improved a lot after introducing raw milk grading system and sustained good condition compared with other provinces. High ratio was shown dairy farm in jeju for pre-milking, pre-cooling system equipment and self laboring. Otherwise, the ratio of dairy farm doing test of mastitis is low. The ratio of first grade distribution in Jeju is 80.64%, which means that was improved before introducing raw milk grading system. The number of somatic cells found in summer more than that of other seasons in raw milk. However, these data is a little higher than the nation wide data medium. Also, general components, annual lipid ratio is 3.90% that improved compared with before introducing raw milk grading system. These data showed low in summer and similar to nation wide.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.5792-5799
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was the Application of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) system to Korean Rice Cakes. Main ingredients of rice cakes, work facilities and workers were provided from KB company located in Seogye-dong Yongsan-gu, Seoul between September 12, 2012 and February 13, 2013. The manufacturing process chart was prepared by referring to the manufacturing process of rice cake manufacturers in general. As a result of this study, the microbiological hazard analysis on raw materials and finished products of rice cakes showed safe result. However, microorganism test on the manufacturing environment and workers suggested that microbiological hazard should be reduced through systematic cleaning and disinfection, accompanied by improved personal hygienes based on hygienic education on workers and management of microorganisms in the air.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.5-15
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• 1973

An investigation was carried out on a basis of the bacteriological examination with a view to detecting the degree of bacterial contamination for the 77 samples collected from the locally-sold liquid specialties. It's test period was 50 days from July 10 to August 30, 1971. Specially, the survey has put emphasis on the population of general bacteria and the identification of coli-form group, staphylococcus species, streptococcus species, bacillus species, fungi, and yeast species from liquid samples. The results obtained are summarized as follows; (1) For the 77 samples tested, the contamination of general bacteria was found out as minimun 0, i,e., maximum, $12{\times}10^4$ and the total average $45{\times}10^2$ per milliliter. (2) Although streptococcus species could not be detected with the samples, the contamination of the coli-form and staphylococcus species means the strong suggestion of the possibility of pathogenic bacterial contamination. (3) Specially, the products which stay in the neutral pH range and use suspending agents need to care for the microbial contamination in the manufacturing crocess. (4) It is thought necessary to perform the microbiological quality control in the liquid preparations only at least. (5) As the microbial contamination degree in the liquid decreases according to the elapse of time, the microbiological quality control will have to be carried out immediately after the completion of the manufacturing process in order to know the accurate degree. (6) The author thinks that the main reason of the microbial contamination in the liquid is the contamination during the manufacturing process. (7) For the purpose of prevention of the microbial contamination in liquid, therefore, it is more important to make efforts for the rationalization of manufacturing process, the improvement of equipment and environment, the specific training of workers for hygienic knowledges, etc. rather than the use of preservatives for the preparations.