• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.113-118
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• 2012

From July 2008 to June 2009, livers of the swamp eels (Monopterus alba) were investigated for advanced third-stage larvae (AL3) of Gnathostoma spinigerum. Results revealed that 10.2% (106/1,037) and 20.4% (78/383) of farmed eels from Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province and those of wild-caught eels obtained from a market in Min Buri District of Bangkok, Thailand were infected, respectively. The prevalence was high during the rainy and winter seasons. The infection rate abruptly decreased in the beginning of summer. The highest infection rate (13.7%) was observed in September and absence of infection (0%) in March-April in the farmed eels. Whereas, in the wild-caught eels, the highest rate (30.7%) was observed in November, and the rate decreased to the lowest at 6.3% in March. The average no. (mean${\pm}$SE) of AL3 per investigated liver in farmed eels ($1.1{\pm}0.2$) was significantly lower (P=0.040) than those in the caught eels ($0.2{\pm}0.03$). In addition, the intensity of AL3 recovered from each infected liver varied from 1 to 18 ($2.3{\pm}0.3$) in the farmed eels and from 1 to 47 ($6.3{\pm}1.2$) in the caught eels, respectively. The AL3 intensity showed significant difference (P=0.011) between these 2 different sources of eels. This is the first observation that farmed eels showed positive findings of G. spinigerum infective larvae. This may affect the standard farming of the culture farm and also present a risk of consuming undercooked eels from the wild-caught and farmed eels.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.37-40
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• 2008

Iron is an essential element for almost all living organisms. The possible role of iron for growth, adherence and cytotoxicity of Entamoeba histolytica was evaluated in this study. The absence of iron from TYI-S-33 medium stopped amebic growth in vitro. However, iron concentrations in the culture media of 21.4-285.6 ${\mu}M$ did not affect the growth of the amebae. Although growth was not retarded at these concentrations, the adhesive abilities of E. histolytica and their cytotoxicities to CHO cell monolayer were correlated with iron concentration. Amebic adhesion to CHO cell monolayers was significantly reduced by low-iron ($24.6{\pm}2.1%$) compared with $62.7{\pm}2.8\;and\;63.1{\pm}1.4%$ of amebae grown in a normal-iron and high-iron media, respectively. E. histolytica cultured in the normal- and high-iron media destroyed $69.1{\pm}4.3%\;and\;72.6{\pm}5.7%$ of cultured CHO cell monolayers, but amebae grown in the low-iron medium showed a significantly reduced level of cytotoxicity to CHO cells ($2.8{\pm}0.2%$). Addition of divalent cations other than iron to amebic trophozoites grown in the low-iron medium failed to restore levels of the cytotoxicity. However, when E. histolytica grown in low-iron medium were transferred to normal-iron medium, the amebae showed completely restored cytotoxicity within 7 days. The result suggests that iron is an important factor in the adherence and cytotoxicity of E. histolytica to CHO cell monolayer.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.68-82
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• 2017

Objectives: We performed a systematic review to assess and aggregate the available evidence on the frequency, expected effects, obstacles, and facilitators of disclosure of patient safety incidents (DPSI). Methods: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for this systematic review and searched PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for English articles published between 1990 and 2014. Two authors independently conducted the title screening and abstract review. Ninety-nine articles were selected for full-text reviews. One author extracted the data and another verified them. Results: There was considerable variation in the reported frequency of DPSI among medical professionals. The main expected effects of DPSI were decreased intention of the general public to file medical lawsuits and punish medical professionals, increased credibility of medical professionals, increased intention of patients to revisit and recommend physicians or hospitals, higher ratings of quality of care, and alleviation of feelings of guilt among medical professionals. The obstacles to DPSI were fear of medical lawsuits and punishment, fear of a damaged professional reputation among colleagues and patients, diminished patient trust, the complexity of the situation, and the absence of a patient safety culture. However, the factors facilitating DPSI included the creation of a safe environment for reporting patient safety incidents, as well as guidelines and education for DPSI. Conclusions: The reported frequency of the experience of the general public with DPSI was somewhat lower than the reported frequency of DPSI among medical professionals. Although we identified various expected effects of DPSI, more empirical evidence from real cases is required.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.278-282
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• 2004

Compost is used mainly as an organic fertilizer, but it is also used as bedding material for cattle. Dairy cattle have been identified as a main reservoir of pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7. Further, E. coli is regarded as an environmental pathogen that causes bovine clinical mastitis. Hence, its growth in compost spread or compost bedding should be avoided. Physical and chemical conditions, available nutrients and microflora in compost change greatly during the composting process. Since pathogen growth in compost seems to be related to these changes, we assessed the possibility of E. coli growth in compost samples collected at 0, 7, 13, 22, 41, 190 and 360 d. Cattle waste composts with and without added tofu residue were collected from static piles and immediately air-dried. Compost samples were inoculated with a pure culture of E. coli, the moisture content was adjusted to 50%, and the samples were incubated for 5 d at $30^{\circ}C$. The numbers of E. coli in compost before and after incubation were determined by direct plating on Chromocult coliform agar. Almost all compost samples supported E. coli growth. Samples collected during or immediately after the thermophilic phase (day 7) showed the highest growth. Growth in samples more than 13 d old were not significantly different from those of aged compost samples. The addition of tofu residue gave a higher growth than its absence in younger samples collected prior to 13 d. To minimize the risk of environmental mastitis, the use of compost in the initial stage of the process is better avoided.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제75권4호
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• pp.150-156
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• 2013

Background: Thoracoscopic pleural biopsy is often required for rapid and confirmative diagnosis in patients with suspected pleural tuberculosis (PL-TB). However, this method is more invasive and costly than its alternatives. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical utility of the chest computed tomography (CT)-based bronchial aspirate (BA) TB-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in such patients. Methods: Bronchoscopic evaluation was performed in 54 patients with presumptive PL-TB through diagnostic thoracentesis but without a positive result of sputum acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear, pleural fluid AFB smear, or pleural fluid TB-PCR test. Diagnostic yields of BA were evaluated according to the characteristics of parenchymal lesions on chest CT. Results: Chest radiograph and CT revealed parenchymal lesions in 25 (46%) and 40 (74%) of 54 patients, respectively. In cases with an absence of parenchymal lesions on chest CT, the bronchoscopic approach had no diagnostic benefit. BA TB-PCR test was positive in 21 out of 22 (95%) patients with early-positive results. Among BA results from 20 (37%) patients with patchy consolidative CT findings, eight (40%) were AFB smear-positive, 18 (90%) were TB-PCR-positive, and 19 (95%) were culture-positive. Conclusion: The BA TB-PCR test seems to be a satisfactory diagnostic modality in patients with suspected PL-TB and patchy consolidative CT findings. For rapid and confirmative diagnosis in these patients, the bronchoscopic approach with TB-PCR may be preferable to the thoracoscopy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권5호
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• pp.812-818
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• 2001

Alginate and alginate-derived oligomannuronate enhanced penicillin production in shake flask and fermentor cultures of Penicillium chrysogenum Wis 54-1255 (containing a single copy of the penicillin gene cluster) and in the high producter strain P. chrysogenum AS-P-99 (containing multiple copies of the penicillin gene cluster). Alginate was not used as a single carbon source by P. chryogenum. The stimulatory effect on penicillin production was observed in a defined medium and, to a lower extent, in a complex production medium containing corn steep liquor. Alginate-supplemented cells showed higher transcript levels of the three penicillin biosynthetic genes, pcbAB, pcbC, and penDE, than cells grown in the absence of alginate. The promoters of the pcbAB, pcbC, and penDE genes were coupled to the reporter lacZ gene and introduced as monocopy constructions in P. chrysogenum Wis 54-1225 npe10 by targeted integration in the pyrG locus; the reporter ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity expressed from the three promoters was stimulated by alginate added to the culture medium of the transformants. These results indicate that the stimulation of penicillin production by alginate was derived from an increase in the transcriptional activity of the penicillin biosynthesis genes. The induction by alginate of the transcription of the three penicillin biosynthetic genes is good example of the coordinated induction of secondary metabolism genes by elicitors of plant (or microbial) origin.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.49-55
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• 1990

D,L-2-aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid(D,L-ATC)로 부터 L-cysteine으로의 bioconversion에 대한 특성을 살펴보았다. Pseudomonas species의 배양중에 D,L-ATC를 첨가하여 균체내에 그 관여되는 효소를 유도, 생성시키고 균체만을 모은 후 파쇄하여 조효소액을 제조하였다. 실험결과, DL-ATC로 부터 L-형의 cysteine 만이 생성되며, 이 반응에 관여되는 효소는 cofactor로서 Mn이온을 필요로 하며, Mn 이온의 첨가에 의해 L-cysteine의 생성량이 수십배 증가되었다. 그러나, 이 효소는 생성물인 L-cysteine에 의해 feedback inhibition을 받았다. 한편, L-cysteine의 분해효소가 조효소액 내에 존재하며 그 효소반응의 저해제없이는 생성된 L-cysteine의 대부분이 분해되었다. 반면, 매우 효과적인 효소저해제인 hydroxylamine의 첨가로 L-cysteine의 분해를 거의 방지할 수 있었다.

• 대한본초학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

Objectives : In this study, we investigated the effects of Agastachis Herba water (AH-W) extract on compound 48/80-induced mast cell degranulation and histamine release in human mast cells and also anti-asthmatic effect of AH-W extract on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in mice. Methods : Human mast cells, HMC-1 were treated with AH-W extract in the presence or absence of compound 48/80 (C48/80). Mast cell degranulation was observed by microscope, and the histamine release was measured in culture medium by ELISA. For preparation of asthmatic in vivo model, mice were sensitized (0, 7, and 14 days) with OVA and airway challenged (21, 23, 25, 27, and 29 days). AH-W extract at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg/body weight was orally administered during OVA challenge once per a day. The levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) E, and Th1/Th2 cytokines, IFN-$\gamma$ and IL-4 were measured in the sera of mice by ELISA. The histopathological change of lung tissues was observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) staining. Results : The treatment of AH-W extract significantly decreased the mast cell degranulation and histamine release in C48/80-stimulated HMC-1 cells. In addition, The administration of AH-W extract at does of 100 and 300 mg/kg significantly decreased the serum levels of OVA-specific IgE compared with those of OVA control group. In H&E and PAS staining, AH-W extract inhibited OVA-induced airway inflammation, and inflammatory cells infiltration, and also histopathological damages on lung tissues such as bronchiole epithelial desquamation, goblet cells hyperplasia, and mucin releasing. Conclusions : These results indicate that AH-W extract may improve asthmatic symptoms through mast cell stabilization and inhibiting the lung inflammation in bronchial asthma.

• 한방재활의학과학회지
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.121-131
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• 2018

Objectives We analyzed the trends of government-funded research on Kampo medicine in Japan to provide advanced evidence to R&D support policy for Korean medicine, and to introduce new research fields and trends to the researchers. Methods We reviewed the researches on Kampo medicine through 'research-er.jp' and 'KAKEN' database which contain R&D status in Japan and scientific research funding project issued by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Results Since 1976, government-funded research on Kampo medicine has been continuously announced, and now 533 tasks have been completed or are in progress. The average duration of the study is 2.54 years, but it has been prolonged to 3.52 years in recent years. 4~5 million yen was supported per project for laboratory research, and an average of 44,342 thousand yen was supported per project for specialized laboratory research and clinical research. Conclusions Despite the absence of systematically supporting departments, the researches on Kampo medicine in Japan were qualitatively superior since they focused on providing the scientific basis for clinical application. As competition in the world's traditional medicine market becomes more intense, it is necessary to improve the competitiveness of Korean medicine. Therefore, a keen interest in Korean medicine and active support from the government is needed.

• 복식
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• 제57권4호
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• pp.70-80
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• 2007

Clothes and human body are inseparably related. Aesthetic consciousness of the body determines the form of clothing, reflecting the time and culture as well as the individual and society. Clothes can even reorganize the meaning of the body, while transcending their instrumental functions of protecting, expanding and deforming the body. Using 'body' to analyze the clothing form, my study develops a framework by which to classify transfiguration in fashion design. In order to inquire tile formative style and aesthetic values expressed in transfiguration in fashion, my study examines subjects from the discourse on the body to the fashion collections of the late 20th and 21st century. The results of the study are as follows. Transfiguration signifies absence of body which questions the three dimensional construction of the body in more conventional clothing system. Transfiguration is expressed in non-figural forms which implies metaphorical plasticity and abstract extensity. Transfiguration in fashion stresses a will-to-form rather than mere bodily proportion and structure, which explores trans-extensity that goes beyond the boundary of the body. Ultimately, this phase also betrays the correspondence between signifiant and $signifi\acute{e}$ in sartorial convention. Aesthetic ideal of the body is visualized in the form of a dress. Some clothes prioritize the body, particularly the feminine bodily curves, while others focus on the clothing itself as abstract and sculptural forms. Fashion continues to explore forms and images that transcend the traditional representations of the clothed body. As a type of intimate architecture, fashion always mediates the dialogue between clothes and body, or fashion and figure. My study suggests a framework to analyze bodily representation in transfiguration in fashion, focusing on the relationship between the clothes and body.