• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2020

Purpose Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone health, controling cell proliferation or differentiation, strengthening immune function by controlling calcium metabolism in the body. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to increase the risk of rickets, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Especially, South Korea is one of the highest population proportion of vitamin D deficiency. Accurate determination of levels of 25-OH-VitD or 25-OH-VitD3 in blood serum is required for the diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. In this study, radioimmunoassay of 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 was performed and compared to evaluate the effectiveness of Vitamin D radioimmunoassay. Materials and Methods Serum 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 levels were measured using radioimmunoassay. The interrelationship, reproducibility and population distribution rate were evaluated. In addition, the internal quality control was performed at Asan Medical Center from April 2017 to June 2019 and the result of external quality control (Interagency proficiency evaluation) of first and second half of 2018 hosted by the Korean Society of Nuclear Medicine Technology (KSNMT). Both tests were measured by same manufacturer's reagent. Results 25-OH-VitD showed a strong positive correlation on 97 samples, as 25-OH-VitD3 x 0.9 + 0.3 (R>0.9). In repeated measurement, the average Diff(%) value of the reproducibility evaluation of 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 were 7.7% and 7.4%, respectively. Population distribution results showed no statistically significant differences(p>0.05). The resultant value of internal quality control, which measured from April, 2017 to June 2019 in Blood test room of Nuclear Medicine at Asan Medical Center, showed average (CV%) 6.2% and 6.8%, respectively. As a result of the external quality control (interagency proficiency evaluation) Z value obtained under 2.0, as shown below; Conclusion The interrelationship, reproducibility, population distribution rate, internal quality control and external quality control between 25-OH-VitD and 25-OH-VitD3 radioimmunoassay shows superior outcome. Radioimmunoassay, which can be alone measured in the blood as 25-OH-VitD or 25-OH-VitD3, is considered suitable screening tests for the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.112-121
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• 2016

Development of genetically-modified (GM) crops enables the introduction of new traits to the plant to confer characteristics such as disease resistance, herbicide resistance and human health-promoting bioactivity. Successful commercialization of newly developed GM crops requires stable inheritance of integrated T-DNA and newly introduced traits through the multiple generations. This study was carried out to confirm the stable inheritance of the integrated T-DNA in $T_1$ and $T_2$ transgenic Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) that was genetically modified to increase concentrations of phenylethylisothiocyanate (PEITC), which is a potential anti-carcinogenic phytochemical. For this purpose, the IGA 1-3 ($T_1$ generation) and IGA 1-3-5 ($T_2$ generation) lines were selected by PCR and a IGA 1-3 transgenic plant ($T_1$ generation) was analyzed to confirm the T-DNA insertion site in the Chinese cabbage genome by VA-TAIL PCR. The results of this study showed that the introduced T-DNA in IGA 1 line was stably inherited to the next generations without any variations in terms of the structure of the transgenes, and this line also showed the expected transgene function that resulted in increased concentration of PEITC through the multiple generations. Finally, we confirmed the increased QR activity in IGA 1 $T_1$ and $T_2$ transgenic lines, which indicates an enhanced potential anti-carcinogenic bioactivity and its stable inheritance in IGA1 $T_1$ and $T_2$ transgenic lines.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.211-217
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to investigate into company workers' general characteristics and their awareness or oral health examinations. Answer sheets for questionnaire for 267 industrial workers at Changwon city, Korea, were collected and analyzed using SPSS 12.0. Among workers who haven't visited a dental clinic for last one year, 75.6% of them didn't have dental caries. 74.0% of workers who haven't received dental scaling didn't have dental caries. 84.4% of workers who thought of themselves as having good oral health had good oral health and none of them had dental caries. 9.1% of people who had dental caries of 4 or more had bad breath. 73.4% of workers didn't need to treat dental caries, while scaling in 57.7% of them was required. To reform and improve of the system, incremental dental health care system for industrial workers is needed. Oral health education is needed to increase the motivation of industrial workers to control their basic disease.

• Annals of Clinical Microbiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.37-43
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• 2015

Background: Tuberculosis is globally the most important cause of death from single pathogen. Rapid and accurate identification of mycobacteria is essential for the control of tuberculosis. We evaluated a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes for the differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in direct smears of sputum specimens. Methods: The cross-reactivity of MTB- and NTM-specific PNA probes was examined with reference strains of M. tuberculosis ATCC 13950, Mycobacterium kansasii ATCC 12479, Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 6841, several clinical isolates of mycobacteria (Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, Mycobacterium gordonae and Mycobacterium chelonae), and 11 frequently isolated respiratory bacterial species other than mycobacteria. A series of 128 sputa (89 MTB culture positive, 29 NTM culture positive, and 10 under treatment culture negative) with grades of trace to 4+ were used to evaluate the performance of the method. Results: The MTB- and NTM-specific PNA probes showed specific reactions with the reference strains of MTB and M. kansasii and clinical isolates of mycobacteria except M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, and no cross-reactivity with other tested bacteria. The PNA probe-based FISH assay for detection of MTB had a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the NTM-specific PNA probe was 100%. The smear grades of the PNA FISH test were same as with those of the fluorescence AFB stain in 2+ or higher grade. Conclusion: Detection and differentiation based on PNA FISH is sensitive and accurate for detecting mycobacteria and for differentiating MTB from NTM in clinical sputum smears.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.760-768
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• 2008

The present study investigated the effect of Leuconostoc kimchii GJ2 (Leu. kimchii GJ2), an exopolysaccharide-producing lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi, on serum and liver lipid metabolism in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: a normal diet group (ND), a high-cholesterol diet group (HCD), a high-cholesterol diet and 200 mg/kg Leu. kimchii GJ2-administered group (HCD-LKL), and a high-cholesterol diet and 400 mg/kg Leu. kimchii GJ2-administered group (HCD-LKH). No between-group differences were found in body weight gain, food intake, or food efficiency ratio. The serum GOT and ALP activities that were elevated by the high-cholesterol diet were significantly decreased after Leu. kimchii GJ2 administration. Serum HDL-cholesterol level was markedly increased in the Leu. kimchii GJ2-administered groups, whereas the serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were lower in the Leu. kimchii GJ2-administered animals. Liver levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride were also markedly lower in the Leu. kimchii GJ2-administered groups. In addition, increased activities of HR-LPL and TE-LPL in adipose tissue, caused by the high-cholesterol diet, fell to normal after administration of Leu. kimchii GJ2, in a dose-dependant manner. These results suggest that Leu. kimchii GJ2 isolated from kimchi exerts an antiatherosclerotic effect by reducing serum and liver cholesterol levels.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.134-144
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• 2003

A rhizobacterium Pseudomonas cholororaphis O6 produced several secondary metabolites, such as phenazines, protease, and HCN that may be involved in inhibition of the growth of phytopathogenic fungi. In field study, P. chlororaphis O6 treatment on wheat seed suppressed root rot disease caused by Fusarium culmorum. The major organic acids of cucumber root exudates were fumaric acid, malic acid, benzoic acid, and succinic acid. Glucose and fructose were major monosaccharides in cucumber root exudates. The total amount of organic acids was ten times higher than that of the sugars. P. chlororaphis O6 grew well on cucumber root exudates. The dctA gene of P. chlororaphis O6 consisted of a 1,335 bp open reading frame with a deduced amino acid sequence of 444 residues, corresponding to a molecular size of about 47 kD and pI 8.2. The deduced dctA sequence has ten putative transmembrane domains, as expected of a membrane-embedded protein. Our results indicated that organic acids in cucumber root exudates may play an important role in providing nutrient source for root colonization of biological control bacteria, and the dctA gene of P. chlororaphis O6 may be an important bacterial trait that is involved in utilization of root exudates.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.191-199
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• 2016

Objectives : Despite the increased popularity of highly caffeinated beverages, there is little research examining psychiatric adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among pattern of highly caffeinated beverage intake and depressive symptom, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, suicidal attempt in Korean adolescents. Methods : The data was obtained from the 2014 Korean Youth's Risk Behavior Web-based Study by Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. All participants conducted web-based questionnaire survey. Chisquare test and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the association among highly caffeinated beverage intake pattern, depressive symptom, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt adjusting for differences in age, gender, academic achievement, socioeconomic status. Results : A total of 71,638 participants were enrolled in this study. Depressive symptom, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt were significantly more frequent in the group with presence of highly caffeinated beverage intake within 1 week than in non-drinker group(p<0.01). Highly caffeinated beverage intake was significantly associated with suicidal attempt(OR=1.99 ; 95% CI, 1.77-2.22). In addition, depressive symptom, suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt were significantly more common in the group with heavy-drinker who exceed recommended daily intake dose of caffeine than in the group with light-drinker(p<0.01). Heavy drinking of caffeinated beverage was significantly associated with suicidal attempt(OR=4.05 ; 95% CI, 3.02-5.43). Conclusions : We found that highly caffeinated beverage intake was related to more frequent depressive symptom, suicidal ideation, plan, attempt in adolescents. Also, caffeine intake which exceed recommended daily intake dose identified the predictor of suicidal attempt. Our result suggested that clinicians need to be aware of the possible psychiatric adverse effects of highly caffeinated beverage in vulnerable population including young adolescents.

• The Journal of KAIRB
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.19-27
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the knowledge levels, attitudes, and factors affecting the choices on the education of the participants who completed their education of persons conducting clinical trial workers, and to assess the problems of the current education system for clinical trial workers, leading to improvements. Methods: Clinical trial workers (including principal investigators/subinvestigators, members of the Institutional Review Board [IRB], clinical research coordinators) who were affiliated to one of the 4 university hospitals running their own clinical trial center and IRB in Daegu and completed their education of persons conducting clinical trial workers were the subjects of this study. One hundred seven online questionnaires were answered from 2021-04-02 to 2021-04-17. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were used to analyze the acquired data. Independent t-test and 1-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the differences in the knowledge levels and attitudes following the characteristics of the education participants. Results: The baseline characteristics of the 107 participants were as follows: the majority of the participants were female (72.0%), were in their 30s (36.4%), had a nursing major (29.0%), were clinical research coordinators (63.6%), had never experienced a principal investigator (79.4%), had participated 3 or more educations (58.9%), had completed their maintenance course (55.1%), had 5 or more years of clinical trial experiences (34.6%). The fields on which participants had low levels of objective knowledge were "types and preparations on audits of clinical trials," "regulations on clinical trials (Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, Korea Good Clinical Practice)." The difficulties that the participants faced were on "annual educations" and "lack of information regarding the educations." Factors that showed significant differences in objective knowledge were sex (p=0.02), number of educations (p=0.004), the curriculum of 2020 (p=0.001). Age (p=0.004), having experienced a principal investigator (p=0.006), number of educations (p<0.001), the curriculum of 2020 (p<0.001), clinical trial career (p=0.001) were factors that significantly affected subjective knowledge. Attitudes toward the education were positively correlated with objective knowledge (r=0.20, p=0.04) and subjective knowledge (r=0.32, p=0.001). Major sources through which information on educations was acquired were "institutional notices," and major factors affecting the choices on the education were "when the education took place" and "where the education took place." "Within the affiliated institution," "Online classes (recorded)" and "IRB and review processes" were each the most preferred place, mode, and content of the education. Conclusion: Knowledge levels varied largely among participants who completed their education of persons conducting clinical trial workers, depending on their characteristics such as the number of educations. Participants also complained about their lack of information on educations. The quality of education may be improved if clinical trial organizations are designated as education facilities. Education programs must be developed considering the knowledge level and demand of the participants. Furthermore, as offline classes may be impossible due to pandemics such as the coronavirus disease 2019, the development of diverse and sophisticated online classes is looked forward to.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2021

On November 17, 2019, an infectious disease with symptoms of pneumonia, called the Wuhan virus at the time, occurred in Wuhan, China. Since then, the name has been changed to COVID-19, and the virus has spread all over the world, and the WHO has declared the highest warning level for infectious diseases, "Pandemic". The coronavirus has also caused great confusion in South Korea. This resulted in large infected people.The first confirmed cases occurred on January 20, 2020, and the number of infected patients is steadily increasing after experiencing several waves, and many corona confirmed cases are also occurring in 2021 after the year. As the whole world enters a pandemic, walls are created between people and people, companies and businesses, and countries and countries, and all growth stops or declines, including human relationships, domestic companies and industries, and foreign industries. As a result, society in general is experiencing a lot of stagnation. Among them, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the basis of all growth in Korea, and youth who are trying to contribute to the national development by entering society, are struggling to find jobs. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the difficulty of job hunting and the prospect of small and medium-sized businesses were not very good. In this situation, as the country's overall economic situation is poor, the vitality of SMEs has decreased a lot, the prospects are not good, so jobs are reduced, and there are many difficulties due to reluctance to hire new employees. In this study, with 2019 before the corona era and 2020 after the corona era, we compare SMEs before and after the corona era and overall job search and job search activities through average difference analysis, and whether they are affecting through correlation analysis. Through this, it suggests a direction to increase job search through corporate and government policies after raising the prospects of SMEs first.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.152-168
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• 2019

The element arsenic, which is abundant in the Earth's crust, is used for various industrial purposes including materials for disease treatment and household goods. Various human activities, such as the disposal of soil waste, metal mining and smelting, and combustion of fossil fuels, have caused the pollution of the environment with arsenic. Recently, guidelines for arsenic in rice have been adopted by the Korean ministry of food and drug safety to prevent health risks based on rice consumption. Because of the exposure to arsenic and its accumulation in the human body through various channels, such as air inhalation, skin contact, ingestion of drinking water, and food consumption, integrated multimedia risk assessment is required to adopt appropriate risk management policies. Therefore, integrated human health risk assessment was carried out in this study using integrated exposure assessment based on multimedia (e.g., air, water, and soil) and multi-route (e.g., oral, inhalation, and dermal) scenarios. The results show that oral uptake via drinking water is the most common pathway of arsenic into the human body, accounting for 57%-96% of the total arsenic exposure. Among various age groups, the highest exposures to arsenic were observed in infants because the body weight of infants is low and the surface areas of infant bodies are large. Based on the results of the exposure assessment, the cancer and non-cancer risks were calculated. The cancer risk for CTE and RME is in the range of 2.3E-05 to 6.7E-05 and thus is negligible because it does not exceed the cancer probability of 1.0E-04 for all age groups. On the other hand, the cancer risk for RME varies from 6.4E-05 to 1.8E-04 and from 1.3E-04 to 1.8E-04 for infants and preschool children, exceeding the excess cancer risk of 1.0E-04. The non-cancer risks range from 5.4E-02 to 1.9E-01 and from 1.5E-01 to 6.8E-01, respectively. They do not exceed the hazard index 1 for all scenarios and all ages.