• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.38.1-38.8
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• 2021

Recently, a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (B.1.1.529) Omicron variant originated from South Africa in the middle of November 2021. SARS-CoV-2 is also called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19. Several studies already suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant would be the fastest transmissible variant compared to the previous 10 SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, interest, and alert. Few clinical studies reported the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant but there is insufficient time to perform actual experiments to prove it, since the spread is so fast. We analyzed the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which revealed a very high rate of mutation at amino acid residues that interact with angiostatin-converting enzyme 2. The mutation rate of COVID-19 is faster than what we prepared vaccine program, antibody therapy, lockdown, and quarantine against COVID-19 so far. Thus, it is necessary to find better strategies to overcome the current crisis of COVID-19 pandemic.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.22.1-22.25
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• 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread over the world causing a pandemic which is still ongoing since its emergence in late 2019. A great amount of effort has been devoted to understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19 with the hope of developing better therapeutic strategies. Transcriptome analysis using technologies such as RNA sequencing became a commonly used approach in study of host immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Although substantial amount of information can be gathered from transcriptome analysis, different analysis tools used in these studies may lead to conclusions that differ dramatically from each other. Here, we re-analyzed four RNA-sequencing datasets of COVID-19 samples including human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasopharyngeal swabs, lung biopsy and hACE2 transgenic mice using the same standardized method. The results showed that common features of COVID-19 include upregulation of chemokines including CCL2, CXCL1, and CXCL10, inflammatory cytokine IL-1β and alarmin S100A8/S100A9, which are associated with dysregulated innate immunity marked by abundant neutrophil and mast cell accumulation. Downregulation of chemokine receptor genes that are associated with impaired adaptive immunity such as lymphopenia is another common feather of COVID-19 observed. In addition, a few interferon-stimulated genes but no type I IFN genes were identified to be enriched in COVID-19 samples compared to their respective control in these datasets. These features are in line with results from single-cell RNA sequencing studies in the field. Therefore, our re-analysis of the RNA-seq datasets revealed common features of dysregulated immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and shed light to the pathogenesis of COVID-19.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.63
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• pp.39-64
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• 2020

COVID-19 is sweeping the world, and it is in crisis in all aspects of politics, economy, culture, and religion. As people experience the beginning and spread of COVID-19, wince and re-spread, the people are living in anxiety and depression. Because of the COVOD-19 crisis, Korean churches were unable to provide on-site worship, and online worship began, and churches that started on-site worship also performed online worship. In the case of church schools, the functions of fellowship and education were paralyzed and many are offering online Sunday service only. Many people eagerly want to go back to what it was before COVID-19, but it seems difficult because COVID-19 has become a global issue and a pandemic situation. We can't wait to get better out of this. In the COVID-19 crisis, the church was unable to properly handle the church's original work and to fully fulfill the mission of education. The response of many churches was to postpone the planned ministry to the second half of 2020. Now, we should try to set a new direction and prepare specifically to move in the new direction. With this perspective, this paper studied the direction of Christian education in the post COVID-19. Specifically, the theoretical basis of the direction of Christian education in the post COVID-19 was found in the theory of Agape's encounter, Catechesis theory, and diakonia theory, and specific directions were suggested according to these theories. Specifically, based on the theory of Agape's encounter, Christian education that emphasizes the encounter with the natural environment, Christian education that emphasizes the encounter among family members, Christian education that emphasizes the encounter among citizens of the world, and Christian education that emphasizes the encounter through online were presented. Based on the Catechesis theory, Christian education copping with the attack of heresy was presented. Finally, based on the diakonia theory, Christian education of service for society and Christian education of service based on data were presented.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.284-295
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• 2020

In December 2019, the first coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) patient was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, the number of patients who suffered severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV) has increased dramatically in Korea. This new variant virus induces pulmonary diseases, including cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, and pneumonia. Because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR has been used widely to diagnose COVID-19. As the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (KCDC) and Ministry of Food & Drug Safety (MFDS) approved emergency use authorization, clinical specimens collected from COVID-19 patients and even healthy people have been clinically diagnosed by laboratory medicine. Based on a literature search, this paper reviews the epidemiology, symptoms, molecular diagnostics approved by KCDC, a current diagnosis of COVID-19 in the laboratories, the difference between molecular and serological diagnosis, and guidelines for clinical specimens. In addition, the Korean guidelines of biosafety for clinical laboratory scientists are evaluated to prevent healthcare-associated infection. The author's experience and lessons as clinical laboratory scientists will provide valuable insights to protect the domestic and international health community in this COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.178-185
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• 2008

Avian influenza virus (AIV) is recognized as key to the emergence of pandemic influenza for humans; there are growing concerns that AIV H9N2 may become more efficient to transmit to humans in the near future, since the infection of poultry with AIV H9N2 has been common in recent years. In this study, we aimed to produce antisera recognizing the HA and NA proteins of AIV H9N2. Initially, coding sequences corresponding to the N-terminal regions of the HA and NA proteins of the Korean AIV H9N2 (A/Ck/Kr/MS96/96) isolated from a domestic chicken were amplified from the genomic RNA. Following cloning of the amplified cDNA fragments into pGEX4T-1 vector, two GST-fusion proteins (GST-HAln and GST-NAn) were expressed in E. coli BL21 and purified with glutathione sepharose columns; the recombinant GST-HAln and GST-NAn proteins were both used as immunogens in rabbits. The antigenicity of the rabbit antisera was analyzed by immunoblotting of the cell lysates prepared from AIV H9N2-infected MDCK cells. Overall, the recombinant HAln and NAn proteins fused to the C-terminus of GST and the rabbit antisera raised against the corresponding recombinant proteins would provide a valuable reagent for AIV diagnosis and basic research.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.767-773
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• 2007

Purpose : Obesity has become a pandemic and especially the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased remarkably over the past years. Childhood obesity is often accompanied by the expected morbidities such as hyperlipidemia, fatty liver and glucose intolerance. We evaluated the pattern of alteration in the body mass index (BMI), serum adiponectin concentration, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and complication rates after one year follow-up. Methods : Forty two obese children (age: 8-15 years, 95th percentile of BMI for age and sex) were examined twice annually on June, 2004 and July, 2005. The body mass index (BMI) and sexual maturityrating (SMR) were determined annually by the same examiner and serum fasting glucose, liver enzyme, lipid profiles, adiponectin, insulin and HOMA-IR were measured and annual results were compared. Upper abdominal sonography was performed to detect fatty liver. Results : BMI ($25.3{\pm}2.9kg/m^2$ vs. $26.0{\pm}2.9kg/m^2$) and HOMA-IR ($3.6{\pm}1.8$ vs. $4.7{\pm}1.9$) have increased significantly after one-year follow-up. The serum adiponectin concentration ($17.2{\pm}5.2g/mL$ vs. $12.6{\pm}5.2g/mL$) has decreased after one year. The prevalence of hyperlipidemia and fatty liver were not changed significantly but that of hyperinsulinemia increased after one-year. HOMA-IR showed a positive correlation with BMI and SMR, but was negatively correlated with serum adiponectin concentration. Conclusion : Obese children in our study showed significant increment of insulin resistance during one year. These results suggest that well-organized and continuous obesity control is required especially for obese adolescent to prevent complication of obesity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.3 s.83
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• pp.386-395
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• 2007

A total of 27 strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (18 strains isolated from Korea and 9 strains from Japan) were serotyped and examined for biochemical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, cytotoxicity assay, thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) production and molecular epidemiology. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and DNA probe hybridization method, the strains were tested for toxR, tdh, trh and ORF 8 genes. The V. parahaemolyticus isolated from patients were belonged to 8 different serotypes : O3:K6, O1:K38, O3:K57, O4:K9, O4:Kl2, O4:K68, O5:Kl5 and O6:K46. Urease-positive strain possessed the trh gene, and conversely, urease-negative strains lacked the gene, indicating that urease production by V. parahemolyticus strains strongly correlates with the possession of the trh gene. Most strains showed multiple resistant to more than three antibiotics and the antibiogram could be classified into 6 group (I to VI). All of the O3:K6 strains isolated in South Korea and Japan producted TDH at high levels. The TDH titers ranged between 256 and 2.048, and the average titer was 1009. To distinguish the new and increasingly common V. parahaemolyticus strains from clinical isolates, ORF 8 is a useful genetic marker. After Southern hybridization, the HindIII restriction fragment patterns of the tdh gene were grouped one type, respectively. One type showed two bands one of which was 4.3kb and the other was 11.5kb in size. Variation between the O3:K6 serotype are minor when compared to the differences seen with the non O3:K6 strains. The migration patterns of Not I -digested of the total DNA of the O3:K6 strains were similar, and only slight variations were observed between the serotypes. By contrast, the O3:K6 strains and non O3:K6 had markedly different profiles. In conclusion, Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profile using appropriate primers was an effective epidemiological marker.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.67
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• pp.195-227
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• 2021

In a situation where it is difficult to plan face-to-face worship or assembly-type evangelism due to the continuation of the corona pandemic, it seems that evangelism is not a way to present the gospel, but to strengthen the gospel life. This is the era of evangelism as a spiritual care where the church can comfort those who are struggling and share the gospel naturally by accompanying them, and the time has come to set and practice various ministry directions that combine Christian education and counseling. At this time, this paper aims to analyze not only in the area of counseling, but also studies and papers on professional ministry through a convergence and complex approach between Christian education and counseling. This study focused on the papers on practical trials and cases. The research contents to be dealt with include the concept and understanding of counseling in Christian education, the application of counseling as various Christian education methods, and the development of programs necessary for the field. In addition, the purpose of this study is to analyze what kind of trend characteristics the subjects developed in advance show, what kind of trend characteristics research methodologies were used in the preceding studies, and what are the issues and tasks of Christian education and counseling based on the subject and method analysis. This study aims to analyze various influences on Korean society by meta-analyzing the discourse and issues of Christian education and counseling developed in the field of Christian education in Korea and suggest the convergence and direction of counseling in the field of Christian education in the future. First, many studies should be conducted to lay a systematic and clearer theoretical foundation for the convergence and complex approach of Christian education and counseling. Second, various studies on the understanding and psychological evaluation of learners based on psychology should be conducted. Finally, research on various counseling techniques should be conducted in Christian education counseling, and in particular, various studies on the application and practice of Christian education counseling using basic counseling theory should be conducted. The author also hope that studies on effectiveness verification based on utilization cases will be actively carried out to develop counseling programs that can help our neighbors who are struggling during the coronavirus era and provide direction for Christian education counseling.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.141-174
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• 2021

In this study, by examining the actual usage data of the university library website before and after COVID-19 outbreak, the usage behavior of users was analyzed, and the data before and after the virus outbreak was compared, so that university libraries can provide more efficient information services in a pandemic situation. We would like to suggest ways to improve it. In this study, the user traffic made on the website of University C was 'using Google Analytics', from January 2018 to December 2018 before the oneself of the COVID-19 virus and from January 2020 to 2020 after the outbreak of the virus. A comparative analysis was conducted until December. Web traffic variables were analyzed by classifying them into three characteristics: 'User information', 'Path', and 'Site behavior' based on metrics such as session, user, number of pageviews, number of pages per session time, and bounce rate. To summarize the study results, first, when compared with data from January 1 to January 20 before the oneself of COVID-19, users, new visitors, and sessions all increased compared to the previous year, and the number of sessions per user, number of pageviews, and number of pages per session, which showed an upward trend before the virus outbreak in 2020, increased significantly. Second, as social distancing was upgraded to the second stage, there was also a change in the use of university library websites. In 2020 and 2018, when the number os students was the lowest, the number of page views increased by 100,000 more in 2020 compared to 2018, and the number of pages per session also recorded10.46, which was about 2 more pages compared to 2018. The bounce rate also recorded 14.38 in 2018 and 2019, but decreased by 1 percentage point to 13.05 in 2020, which led to more active use of the website at a time when social distancing was raised.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.131-143
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed 1) to investigate high school students' reliability on COVID-19 responses in schools and private academies and 2) to identify the differences in COVID-19 prevention practice. Methods: This cross-sectional survey collected data from 200 high school respondents, using an anonymous online questionnaire designed by the Yonsei Global Health Center, from July 2 to 17, 2020 in this study. Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the differences in preventative practices and practice rates between schools and private academies. Binary logistics regression analysis was conducted to identify the factor affecting the reliability of COVID-19 response. Results: These high school students reliabilityed the schools' COVID-19 response more than the private academy. In addition, students who studied only at school did more COVID-19 prevention practices than students who studied both at school and academy. There was a significant difference in avoiding public transportation (p=.028), sitting in one row while having a meal (p=.011) in the practice rates depending on the schools' COVID-19 response. A significant difference in Covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing (p-.041) was also found in the practice rates depending on the private academies' COVID-19 response. Conclusion: The reason why schools were more reliable than private academies was that there are health teachers. Because schools are supervised by the ministry of education, the Ministry of education and local government need to work together to manage and monitor the COVID-19 response in the academies through cooperation between two organizations. In addition, it is necessary to arrange a temporary circulation health teacher who will provide the COVID-19 prevention education at the academies.