• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.349-356
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• 2011

The existence of symbiotic relationships between Acanthamoeba and a variety of bacteria is well-documented. However, the ability of Acanthamoeba interacting with host bacterial pathogens has gained particular attention. Here, to understand the interactions of Escherichia coli K1 and E. coli K5 strains with Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites and cysts, association assay, invasion assay, survival assay, and the measurement of bacterial numbers from cysts were performed, and nonpathogenic E. coli K12 was also applied. The association ratio of E. coli K1 with A. castellanii was 4.3 cfu per amoeba for 1 hr but E. coli K5 with A. castellanii was 1 cfu per amoeba for 1 hr. By invasion and survival assays, E. coli K5 was recovered less than E. coli K1 but still alive inside A. castellanii. E. coli K1 and K5 survived and multiplied intracellularly in A. castellanii. The survival assay was performed under a favourable condition for 22 hr and 43 hr with the encystment of A. castellanii. Under the favourable condition for the transformation of trophozoites into cysts, E. coli K5 multiplied significantly. Moreover, the pathogenic potential of E. coli K1 from A. castellanii cysts exhibited no changes as compared with E. coli K1 from A. castellanii trophozoites. E. coli K5 was multiplied in A. castellanii trophozoites and survived in A. castellanii cysts. Therefore, this study suggests that E. coli K5 can use A. castellanii as a reservoir host or a vector for the bacterial transmission.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2010

Deer can be one of the susceptible animals to bovine infectious diseases, and thus, may play a role either as a reservoir or amplifier host for spreading the diseases to other species such as cattle and goat. This study was conducted to determine the serum antibodies to bacterial infectious diseases for brucellosis, tuberculosis (TB), paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in deer. Serum samples were randomly collected from 78 deer from 31 farms at Jeonbuk province, and 7 wild water deer from Jeonbuk wild animal treatment center during 2005 to 2007, respectively. Four farm deer (5.1%) showed antibodies to tuberculosis using Antigen Rapid Bovine TB Ab Test Kit. One elk (1.3%) and one wild water deer had antibodies for paratuberculosis. Antibody against Brucellosis was not detected in tube agglutination test (TAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These data suggest that caution should be applied to inspection of velvet, deer blood and meat for human consumption from deer because of zoonotic bacterial diseases in deer. In addition, farmed deer can be a transmissible host for zoonotic disease to diary or raising farm.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.132-140
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• 2020

In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a well-known opportunistic infection and its management has been established. However, PCP is an emerging threat to immunocompromised patients without HIV infection, such as those receiving novel immunosuppressive therapeutics for malignancy, organ transplantation, or connective tissue diseases. Clinical manifestations of PCP are quite different between patients with and without HIV infections. In patients without HIV infection, PCP rapidly progresses, is difficult to diagnose correctly, and causes severe respiratory failure with a poor prognosis. High-resolution computed tomography findings are different between PCP patients with HIV infection and those without. These differences in clinical and radiological features are due to severe or dysregulated inflammatory responses that are evoked by a relatively small number of Pneumocystis organisms in patients without HIV infection. In recent years, the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction and serum β-D-glucan assay for rapid and non-invasive diagnosis of PCP has been revealed. Although corticosteroid adjunctive to anti-Pneumocystis agents has been shown to be beneficial in some populations, the optimal dose and duration remain to be determined. Recent investigations revealed that Pneumocystis colonization is prevalent and that asymptomatic carriers are at risk for developing PCP and can serve as the reservoir for the spread of Pneumocystis by airborne transmission. These findings suggest the need for chemoprophylaxis in immunocompromised patients as well as infection control measures, although the indications remain controversial. Because a variety of novel immunosuppressive therapeutics have been emerging in medical practice, further innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of PCP are needed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.295-298
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• 2019

Fasciolopsiasis is rarely known as the parasitic disease in Nepal. Herein, we report a case of fasciolopsiasis in a 22-year-old man who was admitted in the hospital with abdominal pain, distension and loss of appetite for a month. He had previously diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis but, his abdominal pain was not resolving despite improvement in his liver function and general condition. During endoscopy an adult digenean worm was seen in the first part of the duodenum. After isolation, the worm was identified morphologically as Fasciolopsis buski. Microscogic examination of the patient's stool revealed eggs with a morphology consistent with F. buski. Eggs were yellow-brown, ellipsoidal, unembmbryonated, operculated, filled with yolk cells, with thin shell and ranging $118-130{\mu}m$ in length and $60-69{\mu}m$ in width. The abdominal pain of the patient was resolved after treatment with praziquantel. By the present study, it was confirmed for the first time that fasciolopsiasis is indigenously transmitted in Nepal. Accordingly, the epidemiological studies in humans and reservoir host animals should be performed intensively in near future.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.457-464
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• 2022

A public health concern emerging from a zoonotic disease. Monkeypox is caused by the orthopoxvirus specie Monkeypox virus (MPXV). Monkeypox was identified as the most common orthopoxvirus infection in humans following the eradication of smallpox. Monkeypox has a similar clinical presentation to smallpox. The MPXV is now considered a high-threat pathogen that causes a serious public-health problem. The continuous spread of Monkeypox virus from West Africa to all other places around the world throughout 2018 to 2022, have raised concerns that MPXV could have emerged to acquire the immunological and ecological niche vacated by smallpox virus. This review highlights the current knowledge about Monkeypox evolution, infection biology, and epidemiology around the world since from 1970 to 2022, with a focus on the human, viral, and cellular factors that influence virus emergence, infection, spread, and maintenance in nature. This paper also discusses the current therapeutic options for Monkeypox treatment and control. Under the right conditions, with limited smallpox vaccination and very little orthopoxvirus immunity in some areas of the world, MPXV could become a more efficient human pathogen. Finally, the review identified knowledge gaps, particularly in terms of identifying a definitive reservoir host for monkeypox and proposes future research endeavors to address the unanswered questions.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2006

Injection of $CO_2$ into underground saline formations, due to their large storage capacity, is probably the most promising approach for the reduction of $CO_2$ emissions into the atmosphere. $CO_2$ storage must be carefully planned and monitored to ensure that the $CO_2$ is safely retained in the formation for periods of at least thousands of years. Seismic methods, particularly for offshore reservoirs, are the primary tool for monitoring the injection process and distribution of $CO_2$ in the reservoir over time provided that reservoir properties are favourable. Seismic methods are equally essential for the characterisation of a potential trap, determining the reservoir properties, and estimating its capacity. Hence, an assessment of the change in seismic response to $CO_2$ storage needs to be carried out at a very early stage. This must be revisited at later stages, to assess potential changes in seismic response arising from changes in fluid properties or mineral composition that may arise from chemical interactions between the host rock and the $CO_2$. Thus, carefully structured modelling of the seismic response changes caused by injection of $CO_2$ into a reservoir over time helps in the design of a long-term monitoring program. For that purpose we have developed a Graphical User Interface (GUI) driven rock physics simulator, designed to model both short and long-term 4D seismic responses to injected $CO_2$. The application incorporates $CO_2$ phase changes, local pressure and temperature changes. chemical reactions and mineral precipitation. By incorporating anisotropic Gassmann equations into the simulator, the seismic response of faults and fractures reactivated by $CO_2$ can also be predicted. We show field examples (potential $CO_2$ sequestration sites offshore and onshore) where we have tested our rock physics simulator. 4D seismic responses are modelled to help design the monitoring program.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1751-1758
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• 2015

There has been a strong, positive correlation between opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma and infection with Helicobacter. Here a rodent model of human infection with Opisthorchis viverrini was utilized to further investigate relationships of apparent co-infections with O. viverrini and H. pylori. A total of 150 hamsters were assigned to five groups: i) Control hamsters not infected with O. viverrini; ii) O. viverrini-infected hamsters; iii) non-O. viverrini infected hamsters treated with antibiotics (ABx); iv) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated with ABx; and v) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated both with ABx and praziquantel (PZQ). Stomach, gallbladder, liver, colonic tissue, colorectal feces and O. viverrini worms were collected and the presence of species of Helicobacter determined by PCR-based approaches. In addition, O. viverrini worms were cultured in vitro with and without ABx for four weeks, after which the presence of Helicobacter spp. was determined. In situ localization of H. pylori and Helicobacter-like species was performed using a combination of histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in O. viverrini-infected hamsters was significantly higher than that of O. viverrini-uninfected hamsters ($p{\leq}0.001$). Interestingly, O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated with ABx and PZQ (to remove the flukes) had a significantly lower frequency of H. pylori than either O. viverr-iniinfected hamsters treated only with ABx or O. viverrini-infected hamsters, respectively ($p{\leq}0.001$). Quantitative RT-PCR strongly confirmed the correlation between intensity H. pylori infection and the presence of liver fluke infection. In vitro, H. pylori could be detected in the O. viverrini worms cultured with ABx over four weeks. In situ localization revealed H. pylori and other Helicobacter-like bacteria in worm gut. The findings indicate that the liver fluke O. viverrini in the biliary tree of the hamsters harbors H. pylori and Helicobacter-like bacteria. Accordingly, the association between O. viverrini and H. pylori may be an obligatory mutualism.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.661-672
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• 2017

Endophytic fungi are present in host plants and contribute to resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. Aquatic plants are living in aquatic environment such as saltwater or freshwater and exposed more water stress than other land plants. In this study, we investigated 4 wetlands in Jeju and collected 11 aquatic plants. Exogenous microbes were removed by preprocessing of plants and endophytic fungal strains were isolated from the plants. We isolated 126 fungal strains from Namsaengi-pond, 22 fungal strains from Sujangdong-marsh, 44 fungal strains from Yongsu-reservoir and 32 fungal strains from Gangjeongcheon. The fungal strains were identified using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and analyzed the phylogeny and diversity. Endophytic fungi isolated from plants of Namsaengi-pond were classified to 30 genera, 19 families, 12 orders, 7 classes and 4 phyla. Endophytic fungi of Sujangdong-marsh were classified to 11 genera, 11 families, 6 orders, 5 classes and 4 phyla. Endophytic fungi of Yongsu-reservoir were classified to 13 genera, 12 families, 7 orders, 5 classes and 4 phyla. Endophytic fungi isolated from Gangjeongcheon were classified to 9 genera, 7 families, 5 orders, 2 classes and 1 phyla. Overall, they were divided 40 genera and Alternaria, Colletotrichum and Fusarium were isolated from 4 sites in common. By investigating the endophytic fungi in aquatic plants, it is for baseline data that determination of diversity and the ecological distribution of endophytic fungi.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.203-214
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• 2003

Scrub typhus and murine typhus are common endemic febrile illness in the fall in Korea. Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugomushi, murine typhus is caused by Rickettsia typhi. Trombiculid mites are known as both the vector and the reservoir host of O tsutsugamushi, the mites which transmit O tsutsugomushi have been reported to be Leptotrombidium pallidum and L scutellare. The author carried out an epidemiological study of scrub typhus and murine typhus in Kyodong-Myeon, Kanghwa-Gun, Incheon in relation to the residents and the host rodents, such as their distribution, seroepidemiology, and population density of chigger mites. 1. Out of 900 residents, 33(3.7%) showed positive reaction to O tsutsugamushi, 24(2.7%) to R typhi. 2. In the seropositives to O tsutsugamushi or R typhi, between the sixties and the seventies of the age were dominant. 3. In the seropositives to O tsutsugamushi serotypically Gilliam was dominant. 4. Among the total 42 field rodents trapped by the sherman traps, 18 rodents were Apodemus agrarius(42.9%), 13 rodents were Crocidura lasiura(31.0%), 5 rodents were Musmusculus(11.9%), 2 rodents(4.8%) were Crocidura suaveolens, Rattus norvegicus, Tscherskia triton, respectively. 5. Out of 42 field rodents, 25 were parasitized by 4,419 chigger mites, showing 59.5% of the infestation rate and 98.8 of the chigger index. L pallidum parasitized in A agrarius, C lasiura, M musculus, R norvegicus and T triton, and L scutellare parasitized only C lasiura. 6. Antibodies in the sera of field rodents against O tsutsugamushi and R typhi were investigated by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique. Positive rate of antibody against O tsutsugamushi were 11.9(5 of 42) and all of the positive is A agrarius. Antibody against R typhi was not detected. These results might provide the basic information for the management of scrub typhus and murine typhus in Kyodong-myeon, where the epidemiological studies on scrub typhus and murine typhus was not carried out enough.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 1987

The host rocks of titaniferous magnetite deposits in Gonamsan are alkaline gabbros, which are typical of undersaturated alkaline rocks in terms of the lack of normative quartz. According to field occurrences and petrographic features, these alkaline gabbros are divided into 3 rock types: coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock, medium-grained rock with equigranular texture, and layered cumulate rock. All these rocks mainly contain clinopyroxene(salite), plagioclase(An 43-66), pargasite, and ilmenite. The accessory minerals are apatite, sphene, quartz, and sometimes titaniferous magnetite. Pargasite, sphene, and quartz are considered to be secondary minerals formed by the reaction among clinopyroxene, plagioclase and Fe-Ti oxide at deuteric stage. Fe-Ti oxides generally occur as ilmenite in the alkaline rocks, and titaniferous magnetite in the ore deposits. Layered cumulate rocks are characterized by a recurrence of discontinuous thin mesolayer of clinopyroxene-pargasite within leucolayer mainly composed of plagioclase. Clinopyroxene is cumulus mineral whereas plagioclase, ilmenite and apatite occur as intercumulus minerals. According to the variation diagrams of oxide and trace element contents against the differentiation index, incompatible elements, such as Na, Ba and Sr, show positive correlations whereas compatible elements, such as Mg and Cr, show negative correlations. However some compatible elements, such as Co, Ni and V show irregular variations, reflecting relative cumulate status of cumulus and intercumulus minerals. On the de la Roche multicationic diagram, these alkaline gabbros are distributed along the differentiation curve of undersaturated alkaline series from alkaline basaltic composition through basanitic composition to tephritic composition. Layered cumulate rocks, which are distributed between basanitic composition and tephritic composition, reflect their cumulate character, slightly scattering away from the curve. The medium-grained rock shows higher contents in Ba, Sr and light rare earch elements than the coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock. The former shows two times higher contents of total rare earth elements than the latter, $while(La/Lu)_{cn}$ ratios maintain fairly constant values of 5.08~5.06 in these two rocks. This means that coarse-grained and pegmatitic rock, as compared with the medium-grained rock, was formed by the earlier differentiated magma but rare-earth element distribution pattern remained almost parallel during differentiation. From the data the above mentioned, these alkaline gabbros are considered to be comagmatic and to be formed by intrusions of differentiated magmas in its reservoir.