• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.220-226
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• 1994

This study was performed to evaluate the clinical applicability of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR ) kit of HCV-RNA using biotinylated and radioiodinated primers. Study subjects were 118 patients with positive anti-HCV. HCV-RNA in patient's serum was extracted by guanidium thiocyanate method. After first amplification, the product was reamplified by primers labelled with biotin and I-125. The final amplification product was defected by counting the radioactivity after incubation in avidin coated tubes. In 51 samples, the test was repeated for evaluation of reproducibility. This new method was also compared with conventional RT-PCR methods in 34 samples from patients with chronic liver disease. The results were as follows ; 1) HCV-RNA was positive in 85(97%)of 88 patients with chronic liver disease, and in 23 (73%) of 30 patients with normal liver function. 2) In comparison with conventional method, HCV-RNA was detected in 32(94%) of 34 patients with new method, whereas in 27(79%) of the same group with conventional method. 3) Repeated test with new method in 52 samples demonstrated 82% of concordant result. In conclusion, new method with biotinylated and radioiodinated primers was more sensitive than conventional method. However, great care must be taken for quality control because there were considerable interassay variation and possiblity of false positivity and false negativity.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.306-310
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• 2004

Purpose: The aim was to assess how the background site affects the Gates' glomerular filtration rate(GFR) measurement using Tc-99m-DTPA in correlation with GFR by I-125-lothalamate method. Material and methods: The study populations were 63 adults with 39 men and 24 women aged from 20 to 59 yrs (mean=37.9 yrs). The fellowing five background regions of interest were used in measurement of GFR using Gates' method: 1) lower side of each kidney(subrenal), 2) around each kidney(circumferential), 3) upper side of each kidney(suprarenal), 4) lateral side of each kidney(lateral), 5) between the two kidneys(inter-renal). We also measured GFR using I-125-iothalamate in each subject. The two studies were separated by 1 to 3 weeks. The subjects were divided into two groups by renal depth. Group 1 with renal $depth{\geq}7cm$ and group 2 with renal depth<7cm. We calculated the means and standard deviations of the GFRs measured by two studies. And we statistically analyzed the correlation and differences among GFRs by Gates' method and the GFR by iothalamate method with correlation analysis. Results: The GFRs by Gates' method using suprarenal and inter-renal background correction showed better correlation with the GFR measured by I-125-iothalamate. And GFRs measured by Gates' method showed statistically significant correlation with the GFR measured by I-125-iothalamate in the group with renal depth<7cm. But GFRs measured by Gates' method did not show statistically significant correlation with the GFR measured by I-125-iothalamate in the group with renal $depth{\geq}7cm$. Conclusion: GFRs measured with Gates' method showed higher correlation with the GFR measured by I-125-iothalamate when the regions of interest were plated over the suprarenal and inter-renal backgrounds. And GFRs measured with Gates method showed statistically significant correlation with the GFR measured by I-125-iothalamate in the group with renal depth<7cm.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2011

Purpose: The SUV is a widely used semi-quantitative index in PET for the estimation of radio-tracer accumulation in VOI. In this study, SUVs from three different PET/CT scanners were assessed, and differences between SUVs were evaluated. Materials and Methods: The PET/CT scanners which were assessed in this study were GEMINI, GEMINI TF 64 (Philips) and Biograph True Point True V 40 (Siemens). The NEMA PET phantom (Data Spectrum Corp., USA) was used to evaluate SUVs. The NEMA PET phantom has6.8 kg weight and three hot inserts. Two different activity distributions for the background and inserts were tested. The activity ratio were 3.7:3.7:7.4:11.1 MBq (1:1:2:3) and 1.85:7.4:9.25:11.1MBq (1:4:5:6) for each of background, insert 1, insert 2 and insert 3. Acquisition time was 2 minutes per bed position and NEMA PET phantom could be covered by two bed positions for all PET/CT scanners. The SUVs from each PET/CT scanner were compared with calculated true value. Results: For both activity ratios, all scanners showed similar results. The differences between each scanner were insignificant. Each scanner showed 91.2%, 85.9% and 87.2% of true SUV for GEMINI, GEMINI TF 64, Biograph True Point TrueV, respectively. Conclusion: For all scanners, SUVs were slightly lower than true value. However, the difference between scanners was insignificant. The SUVs from these scanners would be clinically meaningful if their consistent underestimation is kept in mind.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.372-379
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• 2007

A high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI) tandem MS was developed for the rapid and simultaneous determination of forbidden medicines in dietary supplements. Thirteen medicinal components such as PDE-5 inhibitors and their analogues, and the newly identified dimethylsildenafil and xanthoanthrafil, were included in this study. After tentative standardization of molecular ions in both polarities using thirteen references on the mass spectrometer, with ESI-continuous infusion via the syringe pump method, the relative intensity of the ions present in the resulting spectra was quantitatively compared. From the results, the ion mode was selected depending on each reference's characteristics. A HPLC method coupled with the ESI mode was developed considering the matrix effect and interference depending on the type of sample. The validation test of the developed method was followed by carrying out precision, accuracy, recovery, sensitivity and linearity, etc. The method showed sufficiently high sensitivity, reproducibility, and specificity, and produced 4 times faster results when compared with the existing HPLC/UV method for the determination of forbidden compounds in dietary supplements.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.494-501
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of Bacillus cereus, aerobic bacteria and coliforms in the raw material of infant formulas and investigate the manufacturing process in terms of microbial safety. Among ten kinds of raw infant formula material samples (n=20), Bacillus cereus appeared in two (n=4). Aerobic bacteria were not detected in raw infant formula material or maximum 4.15 log CFU/g. Eleven species of aerobic bacteria were isolated and 76% of them were Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhizobium radiobactor, or Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. A Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that the most influential factors for detecting Bacillus cereus were aerobic bacteria and coliforms. In other words, when the measured values of aerobic bacteria and coliforms were higher, the possibility that Bacillus cereus would appear increased. In a regression model to predict Bacillus cereus, the rate of appearance was correlated with aerobic bacteria and coliforms, and its contribution rate for effectiveness was 86%. Improving microbial quality control by pasteurization, spray dry, popping and extrusion resulted in a decrease in the numbers of Bacillus cereus, aerobic bacteria and coliforms in the raw materials. The results suggest that a hazard analysis and critical control point system might be effective for reducing microbiological contamination.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2006

Purpose: Terminal cancer influences on patients as well as their family members. This research was performed to evaluate the quality of lift of primary family caregivers and to investigate the influencing factors. Methods: The results of survey were collected from 81 family caregivers who were taking care of hospitalized terminal cancer patients at an oncology department of university hospital in Daejeon from March 2005 to January 2006 with questionnaires. The questionnaires were consisted of the general characteristics of the subjects, and 36-items short-form Health Survey (SE-36) Korean version to evaluate the quality of life of family caregivers, the characteristics of patients and family caregivers' caring trait. Results: Family caregivers' mean (${\pm}SD$) SF-36 score was 47.9 (${\pm}20.7$). Influential factors on family caregivers' life quality were daily raring hours, economic burden, type of treatment; only supportive care, caring duration, sex, the numbers of ADLs (activity of daily livings) items that patients needed help in order by stepwised multiple logistic regression analysis (overall $R^2=0.639$, P=0.044). Conclusion: Daily raring hours and economic burden were two influential modifiable factors on family caregivers' quality of life. Therefore, social supportive systems are required to reduce family caregivers' daily caring hour and economic burden.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.361-372
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• 2017

Bred and grown around the world, tomato (Solanum spp.) has highly valuable fruits containings various anti-oxidants such as lycopene, flavonoids, glutamine, and ${\beta}-carotene$. Several studies have explored, way in which to enhance the growth, management and quality of tomato, we focus on the management of growth for yield rather than quality. The expression of superior agronomic traits depends on where cultivars are grown. We evaluated 10 cultivars grown in three environment for their lycopene. HTL3137 ($70.48mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$), which was grown in Yoeju in spring/summer, contained the highest lycopene content, while HTL10256 ($20.9mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$), which was grown in Suwon in spring/summer, contain the least lycopene.Correlations between color components and lycopene content varied according to growing location and season. In spring/summer-grown tomatoes from Suwon, no significant correlation was observed between any color component (redness [R], greenness [G], blueness [B], luminosity, $L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$, hue and chroma) and lycopene content. A correlation was observed between B and lycopene content in tomatoes grown in Yeoju during the same season. In tomatoes grown in Yeoju in fall/winter, significant correlations were found between lycopene content and G, luminosity, $L^*$, and hue. Variance in interactions between genotype, environment, and genotype ${\times}$ environment (G ${\times}$ E) using Minimum Norm Quadratic Unbiased Estimate (MINQUE) analysis indicated that lycopene content depends on genotype (51.33%), environment (49.13%), and G ${\times}$ E (21.43%). However, when the Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) was used, the G ${\times}$ E value was highest.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.344-360
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• 2017

Zoysiagrasses are important turf plants used for school playgrounds, parks, golf courses, and sports fields. The two most popular zoysiagrass species are Zoysia japonica and Zoysia sinica. These are widely distributed across different growing zones and are morphologically distinguishable from each other; however, it is phenotypically difficult to differentiate those that grow along the coastal line from those in beach area habitats. A combination of morphological and molecular approaches is desirable to efficiently identify these two plant cultivars. In this study, we used a rapid identification system based on DNA barcoding of the nrDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The nrDNA-ITS regions of ITS1, 5.8S nrDNA, and ITS2 from Z. japonica, Z. sinica, Agrostis stolonifera, and Poa pratensis were DNA barcoded to classify these grasses according to their molecular identities. The nrDNA-ITS sequences of these species were found at 686 bp, 687 bp, 683 bp, and 681 bp, respectively. The size of ITS1 ranged from 248 to 249 bp, while ITS2 ranged from 270 to 274 bp. The 5.8S coding region ranged from 163 - 164bp. Between Z. japonica and Z. sinica, nineteen (2.8%) nucleotide sites were variable, and the G+C content of the ITS region ranged from 55.4 to 63.3%. Substitutions and insert/deletion (indel) sites in the nrDNA-ITS sequence of Z. japonica and Z. sinica were converted to cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers, and applied to the Zoysia grasses sampled to verify the presence of these markers. Among the 62 control and collected grass samples, we classified three groups: 36 Z. japonica, 22 Z. sinica, and 4 Z. japonica/Z. sinica hybrids. Morphological classification revealed only two groups; Z. japonica and Z. sinica. Our results suggest that used of the nrDNA-ITS barcode region and CAPS markers can be used to distinguish between Z. japonica and Z. sinica at the species level.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1625-1630
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• 2008

A microorganism capable of producing high level of poly-3-hydoxybutyrate (PHB) from xylose was isolated from soil. The isolated strain J-65 was identified as Bacillus megaterium based on the morphological, biochemical and molecular biological characteristics. The optimum temperature and pH for the growth of B. megaterium J-65 were $37^{\circ}C$ and 8.0, respectively. The optimum medium composition for the cell growth was 2% xylose, 0.25% $(NH_4)_2SO_4$, 0.3% $Na_2HPO_4{\cdot}12H_2O$, and 0.1% $KH_2PO_4$. The optimum condition for PHB accumulation was same to the optimum condition for cell growth. Copolymer of ${\beta}$-hydroxybutyric and ${\beta}$-hydroxyvaleric acid was produced when propionic acid was added to shake flasks containing 20 g/l of xylose. Fermenter culture was carried out to produce the high concentration of PHB. In batch culture, cell mass was 9.82 g/l and PHB content was 35% of dry cell weight. PHB produced by B. megaterium J-65 was identified as homopolymer of 3-hydoxybutyric acid by GC and NMR.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.459-469
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• 2017

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of denitrification bacteria method (Pseudomonas chlororaphis ssp. Aureofaciens ($ATCC^{(R)}$ 13985)), three reference (IAEA-NO-3 (Potassium nitrate $KNO_3$), USGS34 (Potassium nitrate $KNO_3$), USGS35 (Sodium nitrate $KNO_3$)) were analyzed 5 times repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values of IAEA-NO-3, USGS 34 and USGS35 were ${\delta}^{15}N:4.7{\pm}0.1$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:25.6{\pm}0.5$‰, ${\delta}^{15}N:-1.8{\pm}0.1$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:-27.8{\pm}0.4$‰, and ${\delta}^{15}N:2.7{\pm}0.2$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:57.5{\pm}0.7$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated isotope values of potential nitrogen source (soil, synthetic fertilizer and organic-animal manures) and temporal patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values in river samples during from May to December. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values are enriched in December suggesting that organic-animal manures should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of denitrification bacteria method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the anthropogenic nitrogen source in freshwater ecosystem.