• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.86-90
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• 2007

Intestinal parasitic infections remain a serious public health problem globally and have usually been associated with human malnutrition. This study was performed to observe the present status of intestinal helminthes infections among the primary school children in Iksan, Korea, during the period from June to August, 2006. A total of 974 fecal samples (male 479, female 495) were collected and examined by formalin-ether sedimentation technique for intestinal helminthes eggs. Of the 974 samples examined, 2 (0.2%) were egg positive for intestinal helminthes, and only eggs of Clonorchis sinensis were observed in the 2 cases. These C. sinensis egg were found in grade 5 (male, 1 case) and grade 6 (female, 1 case), respectively. The egg positive rate of male and female were 0.2%, respectively. Through this survey, I found that the C. sinensis infection is prevalent among primary school children in Iksan, Jeonbuk, and a continuous health education for school children is recommended to prevent the potential infection of C. sinensis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.168-172
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• 2005

The prevalence rate of Enterobius vermicularis eggs was investigated among preschool children located in the area of Iksan, Jeonbuk, during the period from March to July, 2005. Of the 1,082 children examined 78(7.2%) were found to be positive for E. vermicularis egg by the adhesive cellotape anal swab method. The egg positive rate of male and female were 6.7% and 7.8%, respectively. The positive rates range from 5.1% to 8.7% among preschool children, and the highest egg positive rate was observed in the 7 year old age group. Through this survey, it was determined that the E. vermicularis infection is still prevalent among children in Jeonbuk, Korea.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.289-296
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• 2018

Opinions regarding interdisciplinary unification of medical laboratory science were analyzed by an online questionnaire distributed to 255 professors and 4,000 hospital practitioners in January of 2018. The recovery rate was 79 (30.9%) for professors and 1,368 (34.2%) for hospital practitioners. In the perception survey on the duality of interdisciplinary, both the professors and the hospital practitioners reported that they felt interdisciplinary integration is necessary. The prerequisite of four-year integration was the establishment of institute of accreditation and standardization of curriculum, and the requirements for the four-year integration were considered important for adjustment of student quota and standardization of curriculum. In the four-year integrated approach, the opinion that only universities that passed the accreditation evaluation should operate a four-year system was highest among professors and hospital practitioners. The optimum capacity of university students was less than 40 in cases of 4-year integration. In conclusion, the above results suggest that the professors and hospital practitioners realize 4-year interdisciplinary integration is necessary to produce a competent medical technologist, and the institute of accreditation, standardization of curriculum, and student quota adjustment should be presupposed for 4-year integration.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.157-167
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• 2018

The concept of gene therapy is to treat a disease by transferring therapeutic nucleic acids to a patient's cells. It took several decades from the basic theoretical proposal of gene therapy to the current promising treatment option for some important human diseases. The encountered adverse effects in the early clinical studies boosted the development of sophisticated vectors and elaborate clinical designs. The gene therapy is now considered to have the potential to cure many diseases that are incurable with conventional medications. By the end of 2017, about 2,600 clinical trials of gene therapy have been performed or are ongoing for a variety of diseases such as cancers, monogenic diseases, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases etc. Here, we present a brief introduction of technical achievement in relation to gene therapy development, and a review of the current status of global gene therapy clinical development.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.81.1-81.10
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• 2020

Background: Although previous in vivo studies explored urinary microRNA (miRNA), there is no agreement on nephrotoxicity-specific miRNA biomarkers. Objectives: In this study, we assessed whether urinary miRNAs could be employed as biomarkers for nephrotoxicity. Methods: For this, literature-based candidate miRNAs were identified by reviewing the previous studies. Female Sprague-Dawley rats received subcutaneous injections of a single dose or repeated doses (3 consecutive days) of gentamicin (GEN; 137 or 412 mg/kg). The expression of miRNAs was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 16 h pooled urine from GEN-treated rats. Results: GEN-induced acute kidney injury was confirmed by the presence of tubular necrosis. We identified let-7g-5p, miR-21-3p, 26b-3p, 192-5p, and 378a-3p significantly upregulated in the urine of GEN-treated rats with the appearance of the necrosis in proximal tubules. Specifically, miR-26-3p, 192-5p, and 378a-3p with highly expressed levels in urine of rats with GEN-induced acute tubular injury were considered to have sensitivities comparable to clinical biomarkers, such as blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and urinary kidney injury molecule protein. Conclusions: These results indicated the potential involvement of urinary miRNAs in chemical-induced nephrotoxicity, suggesting that certain miRNAs could serve as biomarkers for acute nephrotoxicity.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.163-166
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• 2022

Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is an uncommon autoimmune bleeding disorder in which autoantibodies that affect the functions of factor VIII (FVIII) are present in the blood. The initial diagnosis of AHA is difficult as the presentations of AHA differ from those of congenital hemophilia A. Moreover, the treatment of AHA is more complex due to the presence of autoantibodies against FVIII. Here, we present a case report of postpartum AHA, to increase the perception and knowledge regarding the recognition and management of such cases. We present a young female with the chief complaint of vaginal bleeding and upper arm ecchymosis. Laboratory results exhibited isolated prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and FVIII inhibitors. The patient was treated with corticosteroids, FVIII concentrates, and a bypassing agent. In conclusion, unexplained postpartum bleeding, unmanageable with basic hemostatic measures, should lead to clinical suspicion of an acquired bleeding disease.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.105-114
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• 2024

Clinical laboratories endeavor to secure quality by establishing effective quality management systems. However, laboratory environments are complex, and single quality control procedures may inadequately detect many errors. Patient-based real-time quality control (PBRTQC) is a laboratory tool that monitors the testing process using algorithms such as Bull's algorithm and several variables, such as average of normal, moving median, moving average, and exponentially weighted moving average. PBRTQC has many advantages over conventional quality control, including low cost, commutability, continuous real-time performance monitoring, and sensitivity to pre-analytical errors. However, PBRTQC is not easily implemented as it requires statistical algorithm selection, the design of appropriate rules and protocols, and performance verification. This review describes the basic concepts, methods, and procedures of PBRTQC and presents guidelines for implementing a patient-based quality management system. Furthermore, we propose the combined use of PBRTQC when the performance of internal quality control is limited. However, clinical evaluations were not conducted during this review, and thus, future evaluation is required.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.210-214
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• 2004

This study was carried out to predict the value of serum ${\beta}$ subunit of humans chorionic gonadotropin(${\beta}$- hCG) in early pregnancy viability. This was performed among 85 women in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer(IVF-ET). The serum ${\beta}$-hCG levels were established for 30 normal singleton pregnancies, 10 twin and triplet pregnancies, 10 preclinical abortions, 10 clinical abortions, 20 biochemical abortions and 5 ectopic pregnancies. In comparison to normal singleton pregnancies, multiple pregnancies showed higher ${\beta}$-hCG. But clinical abortions, preclinical abortions and ectopic pregnancies showed lower ${\beta}$-hCG levels than singleton pregnancies. In conclusion, if we predict the value of serum ${\beta}$-hCG of variable early pregnancies and analyze it, we could predict the dilution protocol. Also, it can be useful in other ways.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.260-267
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• 2012

Obesity is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes. However the presence of the obesity related deranged metabolic profiles varies widely among obese individuals. These individuals, known as 'metabolically healthy obese phenotype (MHO)', despite having excessive body fatness, display favorable metabolic profiles characterized by insulin sensitivity, no hypertension, as well as less dyslipidemia, less inflammation. The purpose of this study was to compare cardiac characterization and clinical profile of MHO and Non-MHO (nonmetabolically healthy obese) subjects in men. We measured treadmill exercise capacity (METs) and maximum blood pressure (BP) in 210 subjects through a medical checkup at J General Hospital. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the modified Adult Treatment Panel III definition criteria. Both MHO and Non-MHO subjects showed statistically significant changes in the left ventricular mass index (P<.001, P<.01, respectively), A-velocity (P<.01, P<.001, respectively), E/A ratio (P<.01, P<.001, respectively), E'-velocity (P<.001, P<.001, respectively), HOMA-IR (P<.01, P<.001, respectively) and maximum systolic BP (P<.01, respectively) compared with the MH-NO (metabolically healthy non obese) subjects. In conclusion, MHO participants were at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and partly metabolic disorder.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.203-212
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• 2023

Since the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, it has been generally believed that a medical technologists (MTs) are supposed to perform polymerase chain reaction tests and next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the hospitals. However, many do not recognize that the duty of MT for clinical genetic testing has not been stated in the Medical Laws (72.5% for MT, N=200; 62.8% for students, N=123). In this regard, to evaluate the feasibility of MT's role for NGS genetic testing, we requested our subjects to fill out an online survey and analyzed the data. Among them, it shows that the scope of MT's role, including NGS performance should include clinical genetic testing (99.5% for MT, N=200; 86.8% for students, N=123). Also, questions on clinical genetics, which is associated with both cellular genetics and molecular genetic questions should be included in the National MT License Problem Bank (97.5% for MT; 71.4% for students). Based on these results, the Korean Association of Medical Technologists needs to cooperate synergically with the Academic Association of Biomedical Laboratory Science with respect to genetic education and legislation for the future benefit of both MTs and students.