• Proceedings of the KTCVS Conference
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• 1993.06a
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• pp.14-14
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• 1993

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 1998

The cytologic distinction of carcinoma cells from reactive mesothelial cells can be difficult, especially in specimens containing abundant reactive mesotheilal cells and inflammatory cells with scant carcinoma cells. This study evaluates the usefulness of mucin and immunocytochemistry for discrimination between reactive mesotheilal cells and carcinoma cells, and sensitivity and specificity of these stains for the detection of metastatic carcinoma in serous effusions. Immunocytochemical panel including mucin cytochemistry with the periodic acid-Schiff(PAS) reaction after or without diastase digestion was undertaken on 127 serous effusion specimens with histologically confirmed diagnoses. The specimens including cell smears and cell blocks were stained with PAS and antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA), epithelial membrane antigen(EMA), cytokeratln(CK), and vimentin. The sensitivities of these stains for metastatic carcinoma(127 cases) were 49%(46/94) in PAS, 48%(60/124) in CEA, 89%(97/109) in EMA, 88%(93/106) in CK, and 25%(20/81) in vimentin. The sensitivities of stains for reactive mesothelial cells(36 cases) were 19%(7/36) in EMA, 78%(28/36) in CK, and 75%(27/36) in vimentin. The PAS and CEA stains were not reacted with all cases of benign reactive serous effusions containing abundant reactive mesothelial cells. The specificities of stains for metastatic carcinoma(127 cases) were 100% in PAS, 100% in CEA, 81% in EMA, 22% in CK, and 25% in vimentin. The optimal combination of stains for use in a panel was PAS and CEA. Combined results from these two stains yielded an advanced sensitivity of 8% in PAS and 4% in CEA for metastatic carcinoma. EMA was also cosiderably useful for identification of carcinoma cells. CK and vimentin were not suitable for distinguishing between reactive mesothelial cells and carcinoma cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.157-167
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• 2000

A thermostable chitosanase gene from the isolated strain, Bacillus sp. CK4, was cloned, and its complete DNA sequence was determined. The thermostable chitosanase gene was composed of an 822-bp open reading frame which encodes a protein of 242 amino acids and a signal peptide corresponding to a 30 kDa enzyme in size. The deduced amino acid sequence of the chitosanase from Bacillus sp. CK4 exhibits 76.6%, 15.3%, and 14.2% similarities to those from Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus ehemensis, and Bacillus circulans, respectively. C-terminal homology analysis shows that Bacillus sp. CK4 belongs to the Cluster III group with Bacillus subtilis. The size of the gene was similar to that of a mesophile, Bacillus subtilis showing a higher preference for codons ending in G or C. The functional importance of a conserved region in a novel chitosanase from Bacillus sp. CK4 was investigated. Each of the three carboxylic amino acid residues were changed to E50D/Q, E62D/Q, and D66N/E by site-directed mutagenesis. The D66N/E mutants enzymes had remarkably decreased kinetic parameters such as $V_{max}$ and k$\sub$cat/, indicating that the Asp-66 residue was essential for catalysis. The thermostable chitosanase contains three cysteine residues at position 49, 72, and 211. Titration of the Cys residues with DTNB showed that none of them were involved in disulfide bond. The C49S and C72S mutant enzymes were as stable to thermal inactivation and denaturating agents as the wild-type enzyme. However the half-life of the C211S mutant enzyme was less than 60 min at 80$^{\circ}C$, while that of the wild type enzyme was about 90 min. Moreover, the residual activity of C211S was substantially decreased by 8 M urea, and fully lost catalytic activity by 40% ethanol. These results show that the substitution of Cys with Ser at position 211 seems to affect the conformational stability of the chitosanase.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.228-234
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• 2010

Purpose : Although intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment is an effective first-line treatment for Kawasaki disease, 10-20% of the patients develop persistent fever or coronary artery complications. Medical records of Kawasaki disease patients were reviewed to assess the characteristic laboratory findings of IVIG nonresponsiveness. Methods : We reviewed the clinical records of 118 children with Kawasaki disease who were treated at the Chonnam National University Hospital from March 2003 to February 2008. The laboratory findings of the IVIG-responder group (n=110) and the IVIG-nonresponder group (n=8) were compared at admission day and at 48 hours and 14 days after IVIG administration. Results : At admission, the level of creatine kinase (CK) was lower (P =0.03) and that of total protein was higher (P <0.01) in the nonresponders than in the responders. At 48 hours after IVIG administration, the white blood cell (WBC) count (P =0.04) and neutrophil% (P <0.01) was higher in the nonresponders than in the responders. The neutrophil% (P <0.01) and CK (P =0.01) level at admission was lower than that at 48 hours after IVIG administration in the responders; this decrease was not as apparent in the nonresponders. Conclusion : IVIG nonresponders have lower CK and higher total protein levels at admission and higher WBC count and neutrophil% at 48 hours after IVIG administration. The decrease in the neutrophil% and CK level between at admission and at 48 hours after IVIG administration is remarkably higher in responders than in nonresponders.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.97-104
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• 2019

Streptococcus iniae is a typical fish pathogen causing streptococcosis and it can also cause zoonotic infectious diseases. We studied S. iniae FP5228 isolated from infected olive flounder in Wando, Korea. In a study to find virulence factors in FP5228, we found that the number of live bacteria decreased dramatically in culture medium containing S. iniae FP5228 for more than 24 hr. This phenomenon was hypothesized to be related to Toxin ${\zeta}$ and Antitoxin ${\varepsilon}$ genes, components of the Toxin/ Antitoxin (TA) system on the 14 kb plasmid of FP5228. We used a protein overexpression system to identify it. The pBP1140 vector system was constructed to regulate the expression of Toxin ${\zeta}$ and Antitoxin ${\varepsilon}$ by IPTG and Arabinose. E. coli/pBP1140 strain grew slowly in early growth under toxin expression condition, and it was confirmed by microscopic observation that the strain became longer. S. iniae CK287, lacking a 14 kb plasmid of S. iniae FP5228 strain, was constructed. CK287 bacterial cells did not show rapid killing during culture, and the ability to produce biofilm was also decreased, and toxicity was weakened in cytotoxicity test and fish test. These results suggest that the TA system is involved in physiological regulation and expression of virulence factors in S. iniae FP5228.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.233-237
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• 2019

A 10-year-old castrated male Shih Tzu dog was submitted to a local animal hospital with a mass from gingiva to maxillofacial skeleton. Computed tomography revealed that strong invasion of the mass result in osteolysis in orbit and frontal bone. The excised mass was presented to the Pathology Department of the Veterinary Medicine, Jeju National University. Surgically excised mass was rubbery to firm in consistency. Histologically, the neoplastic mass was composed of irregular or interdigitating cords, islands or pseudo-glandular structures of stratified epithelial cells. These cords or islands showed typical palisading pattern of neoplastic epithelial cells to periphery without intercellular bridge (desmosome) and surrounded by eosinophilic immature collagenous matrix. Some area showed islands of well differentiated keratinizing squamous cell foci. Some lumen of glandular structures contained fibrin-like materials and RBC. These neoplastic cells showed marked invasive tendency to adjacent connective tissues and bony tissues, therefore solitary neoplastic cells were widely distributed throughout the surround connective tissue. The neoplastic cells showed positive reactions for pan-CK and CK14, weakly positive reaction for CK5/6. And the surrounding immature collagenous matrix was only labeled for vimentin.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2000.03b
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• pp.639-646
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• 2000

It is important to estimate the mechanical properties of clay since it is directly related to the design and the construction of geotechnical structures. Site exploration, which is composed of boring, sampling, in-situ, or laboratory tests, is preformed to estimate the mechanical properties. However, mechanical properties of clay measured from laboratory test may be different from in-situ properties due to disturbances occurred during sampling, transportation, storage, and trimming. In this study, the degree of disturbance according to sampling method was estimated with the test results of CK/sub o/U triaxial compression test on Yangsan clay. The soil samples were obtained by three types of sampling method, j.e., 76mm-tube sampler, 76mm-piston sampler, and block sampler. In order to evaluate the quality of samples, volumetric strain, undrained shear strength, secant Young's modulus, and pore pressure coefficient at peak measured from each sample were compared with one another. From the test results, it was observed that mechanical properties of the block and piston samples were more reliable than those of tube samples. But it was observed that the water content of piston was similar to that of tube samples at given depths while the water content of block samples was 14.3∼15.8% smaller than that of piston and tube samples. In addition to the evaluation of the quality of samples, relationship between c/sub u// σ/sub vc/'and OCR was established from the results of the CK/sub o/U triaxial compression tests, which were carried out using SHANSEP method. And also undrained shear strength was analyzed using the in-situ test data such as Cone Penetration Test(CPT), Dilatometer Test(DMT), and Field Vane Test(FVT) and was compared with that evaluated from CK/sub o/U triaxial compression test.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 1998

Sternal fractures, once thought of as an uncommon phenomenon, have occurred with an increasing frequency, paralleling the incidence of motor vehicle accidents. The tremendous force necessary to cause sternal fracture and this bone's prominent position overlying major intrathoracic and mediastinal structures, have important implications in the assessment and treatment of patients. This evaluation is based on the review of 72 patients of traumatic sternal fracture treated at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul Adventist Hospital during the last 4 years from March 1993 to February 1997. The frequency was 12.2% of nonpenetrating chest trauma and average age was 43.2 years old. Automobile accidents(84%) and sternal body fractures(95.8%) with anterior displacements(19.4%) was the most common cause and fracture site. Increase of cardiac isoenzymes was more frequent and higher in sternal fracture than chest contusion but there was no relationship between the time to take normalization of them and the mode of trauma.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.611-618
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• 2020

Background: It is well recognized that gut microbiota is involved in the biotransformation of ginsenosides by converting the polar ginsenosides to nonpolar bioactive ginsenosides. However, the roles of the gut microbiota on the pharmacokinetics of ginsenosides in humans have not yet been fully elucidated. Methods: Red ginseng (RG) or fermented red ginseng was orally administered to 34 healthy Korean volunteers, and the serum concentrations of the ginsenosides were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, the fecal ginsenoside Rd- and compound K (CK)eforming activities were measured. Then, the correlations between the pharmacokinetic profiles of the ginsenosides and the fecal ginsenoside-metabolizing activities were investigated. Results: For the RG group, the area under the serum concentratione-time curve values of ginsenosides Rd, F2, Rg3, and CK were 8.20 ± 11.95 ng·h/mL, 4.54 ± 3.70 ng·h/mL, 36.40 ± 19.68 ng·h/mL, and 40.30 ± 29.83 ng·h/mL, respectively. For the fermented red ginseng group, the the area under curve from zero to infinity (AUC_∞) values of ginsenosides Rd, F2, Rg3, and CK were 187.90 ± 95.87 ng·h/mL, 30.24 ± 41.87 ng·h/mL, 28.68 ± 14.27 ng·h/mL, and 137.01 ± 96.16 ng·h/mL, respectively. The fecal CK-forming activities of the healthy volunteers were generally proportional to their ginsenoside Rd-eforming activities. The area under the serum concentration-time curve value of CK exhibited an obvious positive correlation (r = 0.566, p < 0.01) with the fecal CK-forming activity. Conclusion: The gut microbiota may play an important role in the bioavailability of the nonpolar RG ginsenosides by affecting the biotransformation of the ginsenosides.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 1998

This study was designed to identify the efficiency of serum troponin-T(s-TnT) level as a diagnostic indicator for the perioperative myocardial damage with open heart surgery(OHS) and to compare with the conventional myocardial enzyme tests such as isoenzyme fraction of creatine kinase(% CK-MB) and isoenzyme ratio of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH1/LDH2 ratio). The study was performed on 30 adult patients who underwent OHS from Jan. 1996 to June 1996 at Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, and they were divided into two groups accor- ding to aortic clamping time(ACT) duration : group I(ACT＜60 minutes, n=15); group II (ACT＞60 minutes, n=15). S-TnT, % CK-MB, and LDH1/LDH2 ratio were measured in serial blood samples from all subjected patients. The results were obtained as follows. 1. In both groups, s-TnT concentrations increased gradually during OHS and elevated significantly at CPB-10(p＜0.001). The peak level was noticed at POD 1 in group I(1.10 $\pm$0.19 ng/ml), whereas, at CPB-off in group II(1.88$\pm$0.42 ng/ml). The elevated levels remained until POD 7 in both groups. 2. %CK-MB was risen significantly with the initiation of operations(p＜0.001) and the peak levels were noticed at CPB-off in both groups(7.14$\pm$0.86% in group I, 10.69$\pm$1.27% in group II). Thereafter, these levels returned to normal values at POD 3. 3. There were no significant changes in the values of LDH1/LDH2 ratio during and after OHS compared with the control levels(p＞0.05). 4. The serial changes of s-TnT were relatively well correlated with those of changes of % CK-MB(r=0.64, p＜0.05). 5. The serial s-TnT levels were significantly higher in group II than group I from B-ACR to POD 1(p＜0.05), suggesting that duration of aortic clamping time was a major factor concerned with perioperative myocardial injury. In conclusion, measurement of s-TnT is a very useful indicator in assessing the myocardial cell damage and therefore it is expected that serial checking and evaluation of the s-TnT is very available for identification of the perioperative myocardial damage and for postoperative cares in patients with OHS.