• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.135-155
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• 2024

Urban public health monitoring in smart cities focuses on the control of conditions and health challenges in urban environments. Considering the rapid spread of diseases and pandemics, it is important for health authorities to trace people carrying the virus. In smart cities, this tracing must be interoperable and intelligent, especially in indoor surfaces characterized by small distances between people. Therefore, to fight pandemics, it is necessary to start with the already-existing digital equipment of the Internet of Things, such as connected objects and smartphones. In this study, the developed system is employed to provide a social IoT network and suggest a strategy which allows reliable traceability without threatening the privacy of users. This IoT-based system allows respecting the social distance between persons sharing public services in smart cities without applying smartphone applications or severe confinement. It also permits a return to normal life in case of viral pandemic and ensures the much-desired balance between economy and health. The present study analyses previous proposed social distance systems then, unlike these studies, suggests an intelligent and distributed IoT based strategy for positioning students. Two scenarios of static and dynamic optimization-based placement of Bluetooth Low Energy devices are proposed and an experimental study shows the contribution and complementarity of the introduced contact tracing strategy with the applications on smartphones.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.384-394
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• 2024

Background: Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), known to latently infect the host's trigeminal ganglion, can lead to severe herpes encephalitis or asymptomatic infection, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. The virus generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that significantly impact viral replication and induce chronic inflammation through NF-κB activation. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), an oxidative stress regulator, can prevent and treat HSV-1 infection by activating the passive defense response in the early stages of infection. Methods and results: Our study investigated the antiviral effects of ginsenoside Rg5, an Nrf2 activator, on HSV-1 replication and several host cell signaling pathways. We found that HSV-1 infection inhibited Nrf2 activity in host cells, induced ROS/NF-κB signaling, and triggered inflammatory cytokines. However, treatment with ginsenoside Rg5 inhibited ROS/NF-κB signaling and reduced inflammatory cytokines through NRF2 induction. Interestingly, the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385 suppressed the expression of NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1(NQO1) and enhanced the expression of KEAP1 in HSV-1 infected cells. This led to the reversal of VP16 expression inhibition, a protein factor associated with HSV-1 infection, thereby promoting HSV-1 replication. Conclusion: These findings suggest for the first time that ginsenoside Rg5 may serve as an antiviral against HSV-1 infection and could be a novel therapeutic agent for HSV-1-induced neuroinflammation.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.167-172
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• 2010

An immunochromatograhy (IC) based infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) detection kit, which employed two anti-IBDV VP2 monoclonal antibodies, was evaluated for rapid diagnosis of infectious bursal disease virus (IBD). The detection limit of the IC kit for IBDV was $10^{3.1}$ to $10^{3.9}$ $EID_{50}$/mL, indicating that the IC kit detected IBDV sensitively as same as double antigen capture ELISA but less than a RT-PCR assay. The IC kit did not detect other viral pathogens such as Newcastle disease virus, infectious bronchitis, avian influenza virus, and infectious larynotracheitis virus. When applied to tissue samples of experimental chickens died 3 or 4 days post infection after very virulent IBDV (strain Kr/D62) infection, the IC kit detected IBDV in all samples of the bursa of Fabricius, spleen, kidney, cecal tonsil and in 87.5%, 37.5% and 0% of liver, thymus and proventriculus samples. In particular, BF tissue samples showed stronger signal bands than other tissues. Positive signal was observed. All except for one thymus sample of samples having negative results by the IC kit showed the same result with DAS-ELISA but RT-PCR assay detected IBDV in some of IC kit negative samples of thymus and proventriculus. When swab samples from the bursa of Fabricius of dead chickens (n=231) on field farms were tested, the sensitivity and specificity of the IC assay relative to RT-PCR was 100% (109/109) and 97.5% (119/122), respectively and kappa value between both assay was 0.97. The kit can provide a useful aid for rapid detection of IBDV in chickens under field circumstances.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.102-113
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• 2003

Purpose : Acute respiratory tract infections are the most common illnesses in children. The great majority of these infections involving lower respiratory tracts infections(LRTI) are caused by respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus(RSV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), influenza virus(INF), adenovirus(ADV), etc. Our purpose of this study was to examine the seasonal occurrence, clinical and laboratory features of each viral infections. Methods : Nasopharyngeal aspirates(NPA) were collected from 913 hospitalized children on the first day of admission. They were all admitted to Hangang Sacred Heart hospital and diagnosed as LRTIs. The study period was from September 1998 to August 2002. Specimens were inoculated onto HEp-2 cell, LLC-MK2 cell and MDCK cell. Viruses were detected by immunofluorescent method performed at day 10 postinoculation. Respiratory viruses were detected in 251(27%) cases. Medical records of 208 cases diagnosed as acute LRTIs were all taken reviewed and analyzed. Results : The identified pathogens were RSV 122 cases(58%), PIV 30 cases(14%), INFA 20 cases(10%), INFB 21 cases(11%) and ADV 15 cases(7%) during the study period. Outbreaks of RSV infections occurred every year but mostly on December, 1998 and November, 1999. LRTIs by PIV and ADV occurred during all seasons of the year. INFA was isolated moslty on March, 1999 and January, 2000. INFB infections occurred largely on April, 2002. The clinical diagnoses were bronchiolitis 88 cases(43%), pneumonia 87 cases(42%), croup 19 cases(9%) and tracheobronchitis 14 cases(6%). Common symptoms and signs were cough, rhinorrhea, sputum and fever. WBC counts in peripheral blood showed normal findings in 123 cases(59%). Each viral infections also showed some differences in auscultatory findings and chest X-ray findings. Conclusion : We learned that viruses are one of the major and important etiologic agents of acute LRTIs of children in Korea. However, we still need to find out more about its characteristic clinical features and continue studying on their seasonal occurrence to focus on their management and also prevention.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2005

Purpose : Hypogammaglobulinemia has been observed in nephrotic syndrome, but its pathophysiology remains unknown. We evaluated serum immunoglobulins, IgG subclasses, and vaccine-induced viral antibodies(anti-hepatitis B surface IgG and anti-measles IgG) in children with minimal change nephrotic syndrome(MCNS). Methods : Using the stored sera, the levels of immunoglobulin(IgC, IgM, IgA, and IgC) and IgG subclasses(IgG 1, 2, ,3, and 4), anti-HBs Ab and anti-measles IgG of 21 children with MCNS were analyzed and compared to those of 25 age-matched healthy children. Results : The mean values of IgG and IgG1 were $390{\pm}187\;mg/dL$ and $287{\pm}120\;mg/dL$ in nephrotic children, and $1,025{\pm}284\;mg/dL$ and $785{\pm}19\;mg/dL$ in control children, respectively. The values of the total IgG and the 4 IgG subclasses in nephrotic children were all significantly depressed(P<0.001), but the IgM($251{\pm}183\;mg/dL\;vs. 153{\pm}55\;mg/dL$, P=0.02) and IgE values(P=0.01) were elevated, and the IgA values were not changed. The seropositivity of anti-HBs IgG was 42.9$\%$(9 of 21 cases) in the MCNS group and 52$\%$(13/25) in the control group, and that of anti-measles IgG was 75$\%$(16/21) and 92$\%$(23/25), respectively, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion : IgG and IgG subclass levels in MCNS children are all depressed without significant seronegativity of the vaccine-induced viral antibodies. Further studies are needed to resolve the cause of hypogammaglobulinemia in MCNS. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:143-148)

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.207-214
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• 2006

Diagnostic monitoring in fish farms with land-based tanks and net cases was conducted in eastern, western, southern and Jeju island of Korea for the summer period from 2000 to 2006. Total 3,518-fish samples of marine and freshwater fishes in 25 fish species were tested for pathogens. Fish species tested were olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), fleshy prawn (Fenneropenaeus chinensis Osbeck), black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli), rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus), red sea bream (Pagrus major), black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli), sea bass (Lateolabrax japinicus), gray mullet (Mugil cephalus), rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) and others. The infection rates by bacterial pathogens in the years of 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were 22.4%, 34.5%, 14.1%, 15.3%, 17.7%, 13.5% and 5%, respectively. The infection rates by parasitic pathogens were 20%, 33.8%, 12.4%, 14.1%, 9.2%, 10.5% and 10.7%, respectively. The infection rates by viral pathogens were 22.4%, 13.5%, 10.3%, 5.4%, 9.7%, 10.2% and 15.8%, respectively. The infection rates by mixed pathogens were 10.3%, 0%, 44.9%, 50.9%, 31.9%, 38.4% and 39.6%, respectively. The rates of mixed infections were very low until 2001. The rates were higher than those of singer infections from 2002 to 2006. During the diagnostic monitoring from 2000 to 2006, the main bacterial pathogens were Vibrio (41.2%) and Streptococcus (28.8%). The infection rate by protozoa (85.7%) mainly including Scuticociliates and Trichodina was highest. The infection rate by viral necrosis virus (VNNV, 42.2%) was the highest of the viral pathogens.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.344-350
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• 2006

An Antiviral producing bacterial strain was isolated from ginseng root environment in Hongcheon, Kangwon province of Republic of Korea. Identification of this bacterial strain was performed by physiological and biochemical tests along with 16S rRNA analyses. The results revealed that the bacterium was closer to genus Serratia, which was named as Gsm01. The strain was grown in Mannitol-Glutamate-Yeast (MGY) broth for 48 h. The culture was centrifuged and the filtrate obtained was tested for its ability to control Cucumber mosaic virus strain Y (CMV-Y) in greenhouse and field experiments. In the green house experiments, CF was evaluated for its ability to protect local host, Chenopodium amaranticolor and systemic host of CMV, Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc. It was found that, CF treatment reduced viral infection by 98% in local host; C. amaranticolor. The N. tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc plants treated with CF did not show visible viral symptoms 15 days post inoculation (dpi) and remained symptomless throughout the periods of the study. To evaluate effectiveness of CF under field conditions, experiment was carried out in a polyvinyl house. It was observed that, 52% plants were protected from viral diseases compared to non-treated plants, increasing the crop yield. This is the first report showing antiviral activity of a Serratia spp. against CMV.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2004

The symptom expressions such as yellowish and mosaic spots in overwintering barley have been considered to be a damage by cold or water. However, it had revealed that the symptom expressions were caused by viruses throughout three year nationwide surveys. Barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV), Barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV), and Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) was detected in 2001-2003 and Barley yellow dwarf virus-MA V (BYDV -MA V) from field samples collected on March in 2003. The results of investigation showed that the incidence of BaYMV was more than 70％ and that of BaMMV and SBWMV was 15.7-37.4％ and 0.7-10.1 ％ in three year surveys, respectively. The incidence of BYDV-MAV was approximately 1 ％ in 2003 only. The distribution of BaYMV was relatively uniform throughout barley fields in Korea, but the incidence of the virus in Gyunggi Province was as low as 19％ compared to 65-85％ in the rest of regions. On the other hand, 70％ of BaMMV was found to be in the west south regions of Korea, Jeonbuk and Jeonnam Provinces. Taken together, both BaYMV and BaMMV were thought to be dominant casual agents in overwintering barley by either single or mixed infections. Previous survey data for BaYMV from 1994 to 1996 indicated that the incidence of the virus was approximately 40％ in Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gyungnam Provinces. Thus, comparing with the results from the recent nationwide survey, the incidence of BaYMV had been rapidly increasing in overwintering barley fields in the southern part of Korea.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.229-240
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• 1999

Background: The impact of the immune response on cancer gene therapy using viral vectors to deliver a "suicide gene" is currently unclear. A vigrous immune response targeted at viral proteins or transgene may enhance the efficacy of tumor destruction and even augment responses to tumor antigens. These responses may involve the release of cytokines and stimulation of tumor specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes that enhance therapeutic efficacy. On the other hand, a vigorous rapid cellular immune response may destroy cells expressing the therapeutic gene and attenuate the response to therapy. Furthermore, development of neutralizing antibody responses may prevent readministration of virus, a potentially significant limitation. Evaluating the significance of these limitations in animal models and developing solutions are therefore of obvious importance. Methods: After retroviral transduction of mouse mesothelioma cell line(AB12) with Herpes Simplex Virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene in vitro, subcutaneous flank tumors were established. To study the effect of intact immune system on efficacy of tumor erradication, the ability of the HSVtk/ganciclovir system to inhibit tumor growth was compared among normal Balb/c mice, immunodeficient Balb/c-nude and SCID mice, and Balb/c mice immunosuppressed with cyclosporin. Results: Ganciclovir treatment resulted in greater inhibition of tumor growth in Balb/c mice compared with immunodeficient Balb/c-nude mice and SCID mice(in immunodeficient mice, there were no growth inhibition by ganciclovir treatment). Ganciclovir treatment resulted in greater inhibition of tumor growth in noncyclosporin (CSA) treated Balb/c mice compared with CSA treated Balb/c mice. On day 8, mean ganciclovir-treated tumor volume were 65% of control tumor volume in Balb/c mice versus 77% control tumor volume in CSA-treated Balb/c mice. This effect was still evident during therapy (day 11 and 13). On day 13, non-CSA treated tumor volume was 35% of control tumor volume versus 60% of control tumor volume in CSA treated Balb/c mice. Duration of expression of HSVtk was not affected by the immunosuppression with CSA. Conclusion: These results indicate that the immune responses against retrovirally transduced cells enhance the efficacy of the HSVtk/ganciclovir system. These findings have important implications for clinical trials using currently available retrovirus vectors as well as for future vector design.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2010

Purpose : The aim of this study was to identify clinical availability of serum procalcitonin (PCT) compared with C-reactive protein (CRP) in prediction of bacterial infection in children. Methods : A retrospective study was conducted with children who had been admitted to the Department of Pediatrics with bacterial and viral infection between April 2008 and March 2009 and children who were admitted with Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) between August 2007 and July 2009. Serum PCT levels were measured using an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay. Results : The study population included 10 patients with bacterial infection (group I), 69 with viral infection (group II), and 35 with JRA (group III). Mean PCT levels were significantly higher in group I than in group II or group III (P<0.05). Mean CRP levels were significantly higher in group I than in group II (P<0.05); however, mean CRP levels were not significantly higher in group I than in group III (P>0.05). Using a cutoff of 0.5 ng/mL for PCT and 8 mg/L for CRP, sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing between group I and the other groups were 60.0% and 92.3% for PCT and 60.0% and 40.1% for CRP, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 42.9% and 96.0% for PCT and 10.0% and 92.6% for CRP, respectively. Conclusion : Measurement of PCT concentrations appears to be more useful than CRP for distinguishing between bacterial infection and non-bacterial diseases in children.