• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2011

The infection rate of syphilis is still increasing in the world especially in developing countries and the infection is often seen in large amounts of clinical specimens. For the diagnosis of this disease, Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR)/Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) has still been used as one of major primary methods to diagnose syphilis even though the test readings are somewhat subjective with high false positive rates. Recently, the automatic ARCHITECT Syphilis TP, which is based on the detection of the TP-specific antibodies, has been introduced in many laboratories. Therefore, the clinical assessment of the method is needed to provide primary diagnosis of syphilis at the moment. We evaluated 3 different manual rapid kits and ARCHITECT Syphilis TP comparing with RPR/FTA-ABS and analysed their diagnostic properties. From February 2006 to April 2008, 203 positive and 250 negative specimens, obtained from Chungbuk National University Hospital were used for the evaluation. In the evaluation between manual rapid kits, their specificities were as high as 99.2 ~ 99.6% while their sensitivities were observed with little differences; 98.0% (199/203) for Kit A, 96.6% (196/203) for Kit B, and 97.4% (197/203) for Kit S. In the case of ARCHITECT Syphilis TP test, it showed 100% specificity (250/250) and 98.5% sensitivity (249/250). Kappa values comparing with RPR/FTA-ABS were 0.978 for Kit A, 0.964 for Kit B and Kit S, and 0.987 for ARCHITECT Syphilis TP. From our evaluation, we found out that manual rapid tests and ARCHITECT Syphilis TP have very good clinical accuracies and high kappa agreements with RPR/FTA-ABS. Due to its automation and quick simultaneous diagnosis with another serological markers, we suggest that the ARCHITECT Syphilis TP is one of best suitable method for the primary diagnosis of syphilis and that it might be able to replace RPR method in the laboratories.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.344-348
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• 1999

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to Treponema pallidum(T.pallidum) was developed and evaluated. T.apllidum lysate was immobilized on the surface of microplate wells and horseradish peroxidase labeled human anti-T.pallidum lysate was immobilized on the surface of microplate wells and horseradish peroxidase labeled human anti-T.pallidum was prepared and used as a tracer. The performance of the competitive ELISA was evaluated by using different specimens. The competitive ELISA showed a sensitivity of 100% in a performance panel consisting of serum and plasma with anti-T.pallidum reactivity ranging from negative to strong positive by FTA-ABS test system and 120 plasma samples positive by TPHA. The specificity of the competitive ELISA was 100% in 1,200 plasma samples collected from healthy seronegative blood donors. These results suggest that the competitive ELISA provides an excellent assay method for the detection of antibodies to T.pallidum, and may be particularly useful for serological blood screening of syphilis.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.14.1-14.10
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• 2020

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious disease of domestic pigs and wild boars (WBs). Without a vaccine, early antibody and antigen detection and rapid diagnosis are crucial for the effective prevention of the disease and the employment of control measures. In Sardinia, where 3 different suid populations coexisted closely for a long time, the disease persists since 1978. The recent ASF eradication plan involves more stringent measures to combat free-ranging pigs and any kind of illegality in the pig industry. However, critical issues such as the low level of hunter cooperation with veterinary services and the time required for ASF detection in the WBs killed during the hunting season still remain. Considering the need to deliver true ASF negative carcasses as early as possible, this study focuses on the evaluation and validation of a duplex pen-side test that simultaneously detects antibodies and antigens specific to ASF virus, to improve molecular diagnosis under field conditions. The main goal was to establish the specificity of the two pen-side tests performed simultaneously and to determine their ability to detect the true ASF negative carcasses among the hunted WBs. Blood and organ samples of the WBs hunted during the 2018/2019 hunting seasons were obtained. A total of 160 animals were tested using the pen-side kit test; samples were collected for virological and serological analyses. A specificity of 98% was observed considering the official laboratory tests as gold standards. The new diagnostic techniques could facilitate faster and cost-effective control of the disease.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1478-1486
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• 2014

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dietary fermented by-product of mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, (FBPM) as a fish meal (FM) replacer in juvenile Amur catfish, Silurus asotus. A total number of 225 fish averaging $5.7{\pm}0.1g$ ($mean{\pm}standard$ deviation) were fed one of the five experimental diets formulated to replace FM with FBPM at 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% ($FBPM_0$, $FBPM_5$, $FBPM_{10}$, $FBPM_{20}$, and $FBPM_{30}$, respectively). At the end of eight weeks of the experiment, average weight gain (WG) of fish fed $FBPM_0$ or $FBPM_5$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed $FBPM_{20}$ or $FBPM_{30}$ diets (p<0.05). However, there was no significant differences in WG among the fish fed $FBPM_0$, $FBPM_5$ or $FBPM_{10}$, and between fish fed $FBPM_{10}$ or $FBPM_{20}$, and also between those fed $FBPM_{20}$ or $FBPM_{30}$ diets. Lysozyme activity of fish fed $FBPM_0$ or $FBPM_5$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed $FBPM_{10}$, $FBPM_{20}$ or $FBPM_{30}$ diets (p<0.05). The chemiluminescent response of fish fed $FBPM_5$ was significantly higher than those of fish fed $FBPM_0$, $FBPM_{20}$ or $FBPM_{30}$ diets (p<0.05). Broken line regression analysis of WG suggested that the maximal dietary inclusion level for FBPM as a FM replacer could be 6.3% without any adverse effects on whole body composition and on serological characteristics. Therefore, these results may indicate that the maximal dietary inclusion level of FBPM as a FM replacer could be 6.3% in juvenile Amur catfish.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.219-222
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• 2010

In this study, we evaluated Vi-passive hemagglutination (Vi-PHA), SD Salmonella Typhi IgG/IgM ($SD^{(R)}$ kit) and Widal test for the rapid laboratory diagnosis of typhoid fever patients. A total of 36 serum samples from febrile patients in Korea from 2005 to 2006 were used. Among 36 patients, 27 were fever patients without typhoid, 9 were typhoid fever. Vi-PHA showed 8 positive results out of 9 typhoid fever patients (sensitivity 88.9%) and 1 positive and 26 negative results out of 27 febrile patients without typhoid (specificity 96.3%). The sensitivity and the specificity of $SD^{(R)}$ kit were 100% and 92.6%, respectively. However, the sensitivity and the specificity of Widal O & H tests were 88.9%, 100%, and 77.8%, 70.4%, respectively. Consequently, Widal H and $SD^{(R)}$ kit showed higher sensitivity and Vi-PHA showed higher specificity. To efficient diagnosis, Vi-PHA may be sufficient diagnosis method in acute cases and $SD^{(R)}$ kit and Widal test may be sufficient in sporadic area and high risk group.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.179-184
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• 2010

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen that causes bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). We compared three selective media and evaluated the performance of immunomagnetic separation (IMS) for the detection of low levels of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef and radish sprouts with different levels of background flora. Bulk food samples (500 g for each trial) were artificially inoculated with nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli O157:H7 at the lowest dose that would generate 20 partial-positive samples of 25 g each. All samples were homogenized in mTSB (225 mL) and incubated overnight at $37^{\circ}C$. IMS was performed using the enriched mTSB samples (1 mL) along with conventional spreads plated onto three different selective media: Sorbitol MacConkey agar (SMAC), Sorbitol MacConkey agar with cefixime and tellulite (CT-SMAC), and Sorbitol MacConkey agar with nalidixic acid (NAL-SMAC) as the gold standard. Two suspicious colonies from each medium were selected and confirmed usinga serological test after transfer to tryptic soy broth with yeast extract (TSAYE). CT-SMAC was better than SMAC for detecting E. coli O157:H7 in all food types. Although there was no statistical difference in the number of positive samples when using IMS vs. non-IMS techniques, more positive samples were detected when IMS was used in both ground beef and radish sprouts. It appears that the improvement was more significant in radish sprouts, which had a higher level of background flora than ground beef. The results also suggest that the combination of CT-SMAC and IMS is sufficient to recover low levels of E. coli O157:H7 in high background flora food samples.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.260-264
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• 2006

Talaromyces flavus mediates the transmission of Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) to several host plants. The ASGV-F carried by T.flavus was partially purified from the fungus. Based on sequence analysis and homology searches, this is closely related to other ASGV strains isolated from host plants. The partially purified viral coat protein (CP) was separated on a 12% SDS-polyacrylamide gel and analyzed by Western blotting with an ASGV anti-serum. A single band at 28 kDa reacted with the ASGV anti-serum. The deduced amino acid sequence of the ORF-l showed conserved domains, including an NTP-binding helicase motif, GFAGSGKT. The amino acid sequences of the helicase and CP showed strong homology to other ASGV strains (98%). All ASGV isolated from plants and fungi had salt bridges composed of the CP and the GFAGSGKT motif of the helicase, which are commonly conserved in plant viruses. These results suggest that ASGV-F is one of ASGV strains isolated from T.flavus based on sequence similarity as well as the serological analysis of CP.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2006

In 2003, a survey of sweet potato virus disease was carried out in seed boxes as well as in various sweet potato fields. Virus infection rate was $5\sim100%$ and 100% at seed boxes and fields, respectively. No relationship of the disease incidence and severity was observed between sweet potato cultivating areas and cultivars. A total of 179 samples were collected and analyzed based on serological, electron microscopic and molecular properties. Field-grown sweet potatoes were examined to inspect 8 different viruses using NCM-ELISA, resulting that 30% of sweet potato was infected by one virus, whereas 70% was by more than 2 viruses. However, RT-PCR using primers selected for seven viruses, such as Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) revealed that of one-hundred seventy-nine tested; 71 of SPFMV, 29 of SPGV, 19 of SPFMV+SPGV, 1 of SPFMV+SwPLV, 1 of SPFMV+SPLCV, 2 of SPFMV+SPGV+SwPLV, 6 of SPFMV+SPGV+SPLCV, 2 of SPFMV+SPGV+SwPLV+SPLCV and 48 of unknown viruses were identified from the field samples. In root, viral diseases were severer in Yeoju than in Mokpo Experiment Station and infection rate was much different depending on sweet potato cultivars.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1320-1323
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• 2001

SAPHO syndrome is an acronym for an increasingly recognized syndrome of synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis. Most of the previously reported case are from Japan and Europe. The authors report a case of SAPHO syndrome in Korean female who presented with extrasternal neurologic symptoms. A 60-year-old female with thoracic and right chest wall pain presented with the sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis, and recurrent aseptic osteitis. Previously, she had hystrectomy and thyroidectomy due to uterine malignancy 25 years ago. Also, she started to take medications for palm and sole pustulosis 7 days prior to admission. Through evaluation of clinical, radiological, serological studies, studies was done along with bone needle biopsy for the biological reassessment. The hyperostosis was found in the pedicles of thoracic 8, 9, 10 vertebrae and sternoclavicular joint. Radio-isotope bone scan showed an accumulation of tracer in thoracic vertebra. The bone biopsy from these site showed increased osseous turnover, thickening of trabeculae accompanied by mild acculuation of granulation tissue and round cell infiltration, compatible with mild chronic inflammation with marrow fibrosis. The patient showed good response to conservative management. The authors report a case of SAPHO syndrome with thoracic radiculopathy. It is considered that SAPHO syndrome is related to spondyloarthropathy, and appears to have benign disease process with good prognosis.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.375-379
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• 2016

Increasing fat tissue of obese people, increases the rate of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndromes and dyslipidemia. An increase in the focal tissue of pancreas is a known risk factor of these diseases. Although there exists sufficient research on the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer, studies have been done on fatty pancreas. In this study, based on ultrasound imaging and using a texture characteristic of GLCM, fatty pancreas was divided into three categories: mild, moderate and severe. We compared and analyzed the three groups was by Pancreatic ultrasonography and body characteristics, serological tests, pressure and the degree of arteriosclerosis, against normal control group. The following parameters of control and test groups were measured: WC (waist circumference),BMI (body mass index), TC (total cholesterol), TG (triglyceride), HDL-C (High-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and LDL-C (Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), SBP (systolic blood pressure), BST (Blood Sugar Test) and aortic PWV (pulse wave velocity). We observed the values correspondingly increasing fat deposition. However, ABI (Ankle Brachial pressure index) stenosis and HDL-C levels decreased with increasing fat deposit (p <0.05); a drop in these parameters are known to be harmful to the human body. The difference in texture characteristics between normal control group and pancreatic fatty group (mild, moderate, and severe) was statistically confirmed. Ultrasound imaging of pancreatic steatosis categorized the disease as mild, moderate and severe based on the characteristic texture. In conclusion, we observed on increase in metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and arteriosclerosis, proportional to the degree of pancreatic fat deposition. The escalation of these diseases was confirmed and was directly related with predictors of cardiovascular diseases.