• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2017

Fungal infections by human pathogenic fungi are increasing globally in elderly, children and immune suppressed or deficient patients. Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the well-known pathogenic fungi and causes aspergilloses in human world widely. However, current identification and classification methods based on its phenotypic characteristics still have limitations. Therefore, currently, molecular biological tools using their DNA sequences are used for genotype identification and classification. In the present study, in order to analyze genetic variations of A. fumigatus clinical isolates, a total of six housekeeping genes were amplified by PCR using specific primer pairs and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) assay. Results from phylogenetic tree analysis showed that most A. fumigatus strains (88.9%) from respiratory specimens were classified into cluster A and B, and approximately half of A. fumigatus strains (46%) from non-respiratory specimens were classified into cluster C and D. Although the sample size was limited, genetic characteristics of A. fumigatus clinical isolates according to their origins were very similar and well-correlated with other clinical data.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2015

Purpose: Noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) by massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma marks a significant advancement in prenatal screening, minimizing the need for invasive testing of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. Here, we report the initial clinical performance of NIPT in Korean pregnant women. Materials and Methods: MPS-based NIPT was performed on 910 cases; 5 mL blood samples were collected and sequenced in the Shenzhen BGI Genomic Laboratory to identify aneuploidies. The risk of fetal aneuploidy was determined by L-score and t-score, and classified as high or low. The NIPT results were validated by karyotyping for the high-risk cases and neonatal follow-up for low-risk cases. Results: NIPT was mainly requested for two clinical indications: abnormal biochemical serum-screening result (54.3%) and advanced maternal age (31.4%). Among 494 cases with abnormal biochemical serum-screening results, NIPT detected only 9 (1.8%) high-risk cases. Sixteen cases (1.8%) of 910 had a high risk for aneuploidy: 8 for trisomy 21, 2 for trisomy 18, 1 for trisomy 13, and 5 for sex chromosome abnormalities. Amniocentesis was performed for 7 of these cases (43.8%). In the karyotyping and neonatal data, no false positive or negative results were observed in our study. Conclusion: MPS-based NIPT detects fetal chromosomal aneuploidies with high accuracy. Introduction of NIPT as into clinical settings could prevent about 98% of unnecessary invasive diagnostic procedures.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2008

Obesity is correlated with diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular, renal, neurologic, psychological and many other disease. Owing to the elevated income and behavioral changes, the prevalence of obesity has remarkably increased in Korea also. Considering the trend of the epidemic, we can easily expect the excessive spendings for the treatment of the obesity-related diseases in near future. In order to check the prevalence of obesity and serum lipid levels of Korean employees, we analyzed the medical check-up sample data of 10,332 adults who took physical check-ups at an institute in 2006. Through the logistic regression analysis we found the prevalence rate of total risk group showing ${\geq}23.0Kg/m^2$ was 57.4% and uric acid was found to be a definitive factor in the prevalence of obesity. Among the adults who eat more meat, drink more and smoke more smoking, the values of BMI, uric acid, cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol and TG were significantly higher than rest of the examinees. And the average BMIs were significantly higher among those who have risk factors of liver disease, hypertension, cardiovascular and heart disease, and diabetes mellitus.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2009

The exposure of human beings to toxic trace metals (Cu, Zn) continues to be an important public health issue and concern. This study was conducted to assess the exposure to trace metals (Cu, Zn) in the general Korean population by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Serum samples were obtained from 40 healthy volunteers. Specimens were collected in special container and we applied sample processing to minimize contamination. We used ICP-MS and AAS to analyze simultaneously the concentration of metals including copper, zinc. Distribution of trace metal levels in the general healthy population showed lower values. The results in this study can provide background data for clinical studies associated with trace metal exposure in the korean population.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2016

Unfortunately, the five-year survival rate of lung cancer is relatively low compared with other cancers. Therefore, better predictors are need for prognosis, therapeutic strategy, risk stratification and predicting long-term mortality of lung cancer. Recently, increasing data suggest that Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and procalcitonin levels are useful predictor cancer prognosis. In this study, we retrospectively investigated the correlation of GPS or procalcitonin to clinical variables in patients with pretreatment lung cancer. In 135 patients with pretreatment lung cancer, GPS, procalcitonin, demographic characteristics, hematological, coagulation, biochemical, inflammatory and cardiac markers were measured. Monocyte, eosinophil, basophil, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, red cell distribution width (RDW), platelet to lymphocyte ratio, mean platelet volume to platecrit ratio, D-dimer and prothrombin time (PT) levels were higher, whereas mean platelet volume was lower than their normal ranges. Glucose and sodium levels were low, whereas gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), total bilirubin, creatinine and inorganic phosphorus concentrations were increase compared their normal ranges. Procalcitonin, high sensitivity C-reactive protein and troponin-I concentrations were elevated compared with their normal ranges. GPS had significantly positive or negative relations to cancer stage, hematological, coagulation, biochemical, inflammatory and troponin-I. Based on the data, we suggest that GPS may be a potent and useful predictor for prognosis, therapeutic strategy, risk stratification and predicting long-term mortality of lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4215-4221
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• 2013

Purposes: Lung cancer is prevalent worldwide and improvements in timely and effective diagnosis are need. Pentraxin-3 as a novel serum marker for lung cancer (LC) has not been validated in large cohort studies. The aim of the study was to assess its clinical value in diagnosis and prognosis. Methods: We analyzed serum PTX-3 levels in a total of 1,605 patients with LC, benign lung diseases and healthy controls, as well as 493 non-lung cancer patients including 12 different types of cancers. Preoperative and postoperative data were further assessed in patients undergoing LC resection. The diagnostic performance of PTX-3 for LC and early-stage LC was assessed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) by comparing with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1). Results: Levels of PTX-3 in serum were significantly higher in patients with LC than all controls. ROC curves showed the optimum diagnostic cutoff was 8.03ng/mL (AUC 0.823, [95%CI 0.789-0.856], sensitivity 72.8%, and specificity 77.3% in the test cohort; 0.802, [95%CI 0.762-0.843], sensitivity 69.7%, and specificity 76.4% in the validate cohort). Similar diagnostic performance of PTX-3 was observed for early-stage LC. PTX-3 decreased following surgical resection of LC and increased with tumor recurrence. Significantly elevated PTX-3 levels were also seen in patients with non-lung cancers. Conclusions: The present data revealed that PTX-3 was significantly increased in both tissue and serum samples in LC patients. PTX-3 is a valuable biomarker for LC and improved identification of patients with LC and early-stage LC from those with non-malignant lung diseases.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.252-259
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• 2019

This study examined the satisfaction of clinical laboratory science students practiced in clinical practice. In addition, the satisfaction of clinical practice and the satisfaction of the clinical practicum affecting the major satisfaction were investigated. From February 20, 2019 to March 10, 2019, a questionnaire survey was conducted on clinical laboratory science students who performed clinical practice in eight weeks of 2018. A total of 344 people were selected for the final analysis data. The questionnaire was comprised of 46 items, which consisted of three items of the general characteristics and 43 items of the clinical practice satisfaction. The satisfaction level of the clinical practice evaluation part was lowest in average 3.88 points. Male students were more satisfied with clinical practice than female students. The satisfaction level was higher in the group with more than the average degree of satisfaction than the group with less than the average. The factors that affect the satisfaction of clinical practice and the degree of satisfaction with majors are the satisfaction with the clinical practice time and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.46-51
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• 2012

We analyzed the concentration of Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT), total protein (TP), albumin, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride in sera of patients (n=455) aged 60 years and older with hyperglycemia (${\geq}120mg/dL$ in serum). The average concentration of biochemicals in patient group was compared with those in reference group. Our data showed that the average concentrations of AST and TC in sera of senior patients with hyperglycemia were significantly increased by 27.5% (P<0.05) and 82% (P<0.05) in total group, 38.5% (P<0.05) and 75.0% (P<0.05) in sixty years' group, 16.0% (P<0.05) and 89.7% (P<0.05) in seventy years' group and 27.0% (P<0.05) and 79.5% (P<0.05) in eighty years' group, respectively. Patients with hyperglycemia showed a significant decrease in albumin level by 6.7% (total group, P<0.05), 4.5% (sixty years' group, P<0.05), 8.9% (seventy years' group, P<0.05) and 4.5% (eighty years' group, P<0.05), respectively. In conclusion, the high concentration of glucose in the senior patients with hyperglycemia may be a cause of severe liver function and lipid metabolism disorder.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.124-130
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• 2014

The aim of this study undertook to ascertain the health levels and risk among petty merchants at some traditional markets by way of physical examination and laboratory tests. Data was collected through physical examination and laboratory tests on blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. The data was analyzed by Frequency analysis, T-test, One-Way ANOVA using the PASW statistics 18.0 program. By blood pressure on sex, male ($1.89{\pm}0.6$), female ($1.48{\pm}0.6$) appeared (p<0.001). Male levels were higher than in female levels. Additionally TG appeared male levels ($193.4{\pm}129.4$), female levels ($142.7{\pm}80.6$). Male levels were higher than in female levels (p<0.006). By blood pressure as the age increased in more than 70 (2.17) exhibited a statistically significant difference. These merchants did not practice health behaviors nor take institutional health management benefit. Therefore governmental level community based health management services are recommended for them.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.39-47
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• 2020

Purpose: Clinical laboratory of hospital has been demanded to extension or relocation regarding with the test number increase and analyzer development. Space area criteria per test numbers, lab functions, hospital bed and lab staffs are needed for draft space programing. So, the purpose of this study is to provide the space area guideline of clinical laboratory for space calculation in planning and design the spatial environment. Methods: Literature review has been used in checking the standards and guidelines. And questionnaire surveys to laboratory supervisors in hospitals have been conducted for the data collection. 60 answers have been analysed statistically by MS Excel program. Results: The result of this study can be summarized into three way calculations. The first one shows that the basic standard workspace and distance is applied in lab design. The second one shows that average space area criteria resulted from case studies is applied by 19㎡ per one staff, 0.9~1.0㎡ per one bed, and lastly linear length calculation of workbenches and analyzers on the bench top and floor mount, is multiplying it by the sum of the counter depth plus aisle width. Implications: In updating the space area calculation guidelines, it is necessary to cooperate with medical staffs and designers.