• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.272-278
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• 1997

Many investigators are trying to elucidate the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders on the basis of neuroendocrine responses to stimulation or perturbation. Dexamethasone(DEX) suppression has been the most widely utilized as the prototypical challenge test. Dexamethasone suppression test(DST) has proven to be valuable in diagnosing the depressive spectrum disorder. Reported specificity of diagnosis of depression is relatively high, but sensitivity is limited. Some researchers used the combination of dexamethasone and corticotropin releasing hormone(CRH) in order to improve the sensitivity. They reported that combined DEX/CRH test is more sensitive than DST alone. In this study the authors modified the DEX/CRH test, i.e., we administered the insulin instead of CRH. Total subjects were 28(7 normal controls, 10 manic patients, 11 schizophrenic patients). Subjects were taken DEX(1.5mg p.o.) at 11 p.m., insulin 16 hours later(0.1 unit/kg i.v.). Five blood samples for the determination of cortisol and ACTH were serially drawn at 15 minute interval. The results are as followings : 1) The cortisol and ACTH levels of manic subjects increased following insulin administration. Manic subjects showed higher levels of cortisol and ACTH than schizophrenic and normal control subjects. The cortisol and ACTH levels of schizophrenic and normal control subjects did not show gross changes. 2) The sensitivity of the test was lower than that of reported DEX/CRH test.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.700-711
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• 2002

Purpose : Early identification and treatment of developmental disabilities is of considerable importance in the health care of children. Screening of development is aimed at identifying infants who may need more comprehensive evaluations. Methods : A new test, the Ewha Infant Development Screening Test(EDST) has been created to screen the development of infants, 0-4 years of age. EDST was constructed so that results can be calculated into developmental ages and developmental quotients. The test consists of three sectors, e.g. language, social-adaptive and motor, and of 158 test items. A total of 104 infants, aged from one month to four years, including healthy infants as well as 10 with chief complaints of developmental delay, who visited the pediatric clinic of Ewha Womans University Dongdaemun Hospital, from June, 25 to November 30, 2001, were given the Bayley Scale of Infant Development as a base test and EDST. Results : The result showed the appropriate cut-off of EDST was 90 with better sensitivity and specificity, compared to cut-offs of 85 or 80. Conclusion : Further study with a large number of infants in the future is needed to make EDST more reliable and accurate.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.47-52
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• 1988

The intradermal(ID) test has been widely used in Korea and several reports about the results of the ID test are known. We examined the egg of Clonorchis sinensis(C. s.) by ID test in 443, stool's egg-counting technique in 79 and direct smear(cellophane thick smear technique) in 1304 subjects. The results are as follows.: 1. The positive rate of C. s. was 3.8% out of 1304 persons. 2. The sensitivity of ID test was 82.1% out of 39 persons and, the specificity was 64.6% out of 404 persons. 3. The false positive of ID test 35.4% out of 404 persons and, the false negative was 17.9% out of 39 persons. Intradermal test is a rapid, sensitive and useful supplementary diagnostic tool for the detection of Clonorchiasis infection and must be used as screening test with direct smear of stool but cross reaction with other helminth infections and moderate false reaction are the main disadvantages in its practical application.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.427-429
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• 2009

To establish a definite diagnosis for pulmonary hydatid disease, combination of radiology and serology is useful. In this study, 19 preoperative sera from patients with surgically confirmed pulmonary hydatidosis, 40 sera from patients with other parasitosis and pulmonary diseases, and 20 sera from healthy donors were evaluated using 4 different serological tests, i.e., the commercial ELISA (ELISA-kit) test, the ELISA (ELISA-lab) test prepared in our laboratory, the commercial indirect hemagglutination assay kit (IHA-kit) test, and the IHA test using sensitized sheep red blood cells with tannic acid (IHA-TA). The ELISA-kit was the most sensitive (84.2%) and the most specific test (100.0%). The ELISA-kit also demonstrated the highest positive (100.0%) and negative (95.2%) predictive values. The sensitivity of the ELISA-lab test, that we prepared, was found to be 73.6%, whereas the IHA-kit test and the IHA-TA test were found to be 73.6% and 68.4%, respectively. The specificity of these tests was 96.6%, 98.3%, and 83.3%, respectively. When all 4 tests were assessed together, it was found that the sensitivity had risen to 94.7%. When the ELISA-kit was assessed with the IHA-kit and IHA-TA together, it was found that the sensitivity was 89.5% and 84.2%, respectively. Likewise, the combination of the ELISA-lab and IHA-kit or IHA-TA allowed us to achieve a sensitivity of 84.2% in cases of pulmonary echinococcosis. In conclusion, the diagnosis would be imminent if least 2 tests were applied together.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.19.1-19.7
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• 2021

Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) causes leukopenia and severe hemorrhagic diarrhea, killing 50% of naturally infected cats. Although intact FPV can serve as an antigen in the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test, an accidental laboratory-mediated infection is concern. A non-infectious diagnostic reagent is required for the HI test. Here, we expressed the viral protein 2 (VP2) gene of the FPV strain currently prevalent in South Korea in a baculovirus expression system; VP2 protein was identified by an indirect immunofluorescence assay, electron microscopy (EM), Western blotting (WB), and a hemagglutination assay (HA). EM showed that the recombinant VP2 protein self-assembled to form virus-like particles. WB revealed that the recombinant VP2 was 65 kDa in size. The HA activity of the recombinant VP2 protein was very high at 1:2¹⁵. A total of 143 cat serum samples were tested using FPV (HI-FPV test) and the recombinant VP2 protein (HI-VP2 test) as HI antigens. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the HI-VP2 test were 99.3%, 88.9%, and 99.3%, respectively, compared to the HI-FPV test. The HI-VP2 and HI-FPV results correlated significantly (r = 0.978). Thus, recombinant VP2 can substitute for intact FPV as the serological diagnostic reagent of the HI test for FPV.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5843-5846
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• 2015

Background: Detection of cervical high grade lesions in patients with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) is still a challenge. Our study tested the efficacy of the paired boxed gene 1 (PAX1) methylation analysis by methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MS-HRM) in the detection of high grade lesions in ASCUS and compared performance with the hybrid capture 2 (HC2) human papillomavirus (HPV) test. Materials and Methods: A total of 463 consecutive ASCUS women from primary screening were selected. Their cervical scrapings were collected and assessed by PAX1 methylation analysis (MS-HRM) and high-risk HPV-DNA test (HC2). All patients with ASCUS were admitted to colposcopy and cervical biopsies. The Chisquare test was used to test the differences of PAX1 methylation or HPV infection between groups. Results: The specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy for detecting CIN2 + lesions were: 95.6%, 82.4%, and 94.6%, respectively, for the PAX1 MS-HRM test; and 59.7%, 64.7%, and 60.0% for the HC2 HPV test. Conclusions: The PAX1 methylation analysis by MS-HRM demonstrated a better performance than the high-risk HPV-DNA test for the detection of high grade lesions (CIN2 +) in ASCUS cases. This approach could screen out the majority of low grade cases of ASCUS, and thus reduce the referral rate to colposcopy.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2011

The dissolution test method and an analytical procedure by HPLC were developed and validated for dobesilate calcium tablets and acepifylline tablets. These drugs were not yet characterized by the dissolution specifications in Korean Pharmaceutical Codex. So, with each reference and test drugs, we did the preliminary and standard experiments based on the Korean Pharmacopeia Guideline of dissolution testing for solid oral dosage forms. The dissolution test for dobesilate calcium tablets was carried out under sink conditions as following: dissolution medium water, paddle rotation speed 50 rpm and vessel volume 900 ml. More than 90% of its label amount was released within 30 min in this method. Also the dissolution test for acepifylline tablets was carried out under sink conditions as follows: dissolution medium water, paddle rotation speed 100 rpm and vessel volume 900 ml. More than 90% of its label amount was released within 45 min in this method. The dissolution samples were analyzed with a precise and accurate HPLC method. The developed dissolution test showed specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy within the acceptable range. The dissolution testing method described above was adequate for the purpose and may be proposed as a pharmacopeial standard to assess the performance of dobesilate calcium tablets and acepifylline tablets.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 1985

Species of scotochromogenic mycobacteria of Group II isolated from sputa of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculosis-like diseases from 1979 to 1984 were identified by simple biochemical tests using. nitrate reduction, Tween-80 hydrolysis, arylsulfatase and urease test, and serotypes of the isolates belonging to M. scrofulaceum were differentiated by bacterial agglutination test. Of 39 strains. tested, 11(28.2%) proved to be M. scrofulaceum, 15(38.5%) M. flavescens and 13(33.3%) M. gordonae. But none of the isolates belonged to M. szulgai and M. xenopi known as major pathogens of mycobacteria of Group II. Of 11 strains of the isolates identified as M. scrofulaceum 3 strains(27.3%) each belonged to serotype 41 and 42, and 4 strains(36.4%) belonged to serotype 43, but one strain was not typable because of its inagglutinability by any one of the type specific sera. In addition, the sensitivity and specificity of rabbit immune sera against type strains of serotype 41, 42 and 43 of M. scrofulaceum were analysed by bacterial agglutination test. In the sensitivity of microplate test with 11 isolates of M. scrofulaceum, a comparative tandem test using 2 units and one unit of absorbed antisera against three serotypes appeared to be superior to a conventional microplate test using one unit of type specific antisera.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2010

We evaluated the performance of a novel screening test, PBP2a MRSA rapid kit (Dinona Inc., Iksan, Korea), for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) based on a immunochromatographic assay. The test is able to detect penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) using the nasal specimens from health care workers. The nasal specimens were obtained from 69 healthcare workers and were incubated in enrichment broth followed eight hours incubatin in BHI with cefoxitin $4{\mu}g/mL$. These broth were tested by PBP2a Rapid Kit. The enrichment broths were also directly tested for tube coagulase using the conventional identification method. 19 of 22 MRSA showed positive results by PBP2a rapid test and direct coagulase test (the sensitivity for detection of MRSA, 86.36%). While, 8 of 47 non-MRSA showed false positive results for the two tests. All of the 8 non-MRSA which showed false positive were co-colonizing isolates with MRCNS and MSSA. In addition, 46 of 49 methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) showed positive results for PBP2a MRSA rapid kit (the sensitivity for detection of MRS, 93.8%), and all of 20 non-MRS showed negative results (specificity, 100%). The combination of PBP2a MRSA rapid kit and direct coagulase test showed the good sensitivity for detection of MRSA from anterior nares but frequently showed false positive results from the co-colonizing carrier with MRCNS and MSSA.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 2013

Although the dissolution test can serve as an effective tool for quality control and predictor of in vivo performance, there are a number of drugs with no established dissolution specification in Korean Pharmaceutical Codex (KPC). So, with each reference and test drugs, the dissolution test method and an analytical procedure by HPLC were developed and validated to establish dissolution specification for acebrophylline capsules and bromhexine hydrochloride tablets. The dissolution condition was determined based on the "Guidelines on Specifications of Dissolution tests for Oral dosage forms" of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). The analytical method of HPLC was validated in specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy. Final dissolution test was performed with commercially available samples of 3 lots to establish specification. In addition, no difference was observed by the inter-laboratory evaluation. Dissolution specifications and conditions will be used for revising the monograph of acebrophylline capsules and bromhexine hydrochloride tablets in next supplement of KPC.