• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.167-172
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• 2022

In clinical practice, the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a challenge. The goal of this study was to evaluate the reliability and impact of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme testing as a biochemical marker in the continued management of suspected tuberculosis in a limited resource setting hospital. The retrospective data were collected from 2018 to 2021 and comprised the results of all ADA test assays done in the laboratory. All types of body fluids received for ADA testing were analyzed. Over the course of two years, 1461 samples for ADA assay testing were received. The average age of the study population was 56.69±11.7 years, with males accounting for the majority of the subjects (55.72%). Pleural fluid (N=817, 55.92%) was the most common type of sample received for the ADA assay. 114 (13.95%) of the 817 pleural fluid samples were found to be positive. A survey was conducted to obtain physician's response regarding reliability on ADA testing. 100% of them reported the supportive role of ADA levels in the workup of patients with suspected tuberculosis. In a limited resource setting, the ADA test, in conjunction with clinical and other laboratory findings, can help physicians to initiate early treatment in hospitals for the benefit of patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3637-3641
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• 2016

To determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) among women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) referred to colposcopy and the implications for clinical management in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the present study was conducted. We included 200 women living in $Maring{\acute{a}}$/Brazil referred to colposcopy service between August 2012 and March 2013 due to an abnormal cytology from ASC-US until high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). HPV was detected and genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mean age was $36.8{\pm}10.5$ years, and women with and without ASC-US had similar mean ages ($37.4{\pm}11.5$ and $36.4{\pm}9.96$ years, respectively). The highest prevalence of ASC-US occurred at 20-24 years (40%). HPV-DNA was positive in 164 (82.0%) women.Of the 57 women with ASC-US, 30 (52.6%) were HPV-DNA-positive and 21 (70%) were high-risk HPV-positive (HR-HPV); the latter was similar to women without ASC-US (76.9%) but with other abnormal cytological findings present. Our data demonstrated that performing tests for HR-HPV can be used for management of women with ASC-US to support the decision of which women should be referred for an immediate or later colposcopy. The same conclusions can be applied to other LMICs for which HPV testing for primary screening has not been adopted.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.105-112
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• 2011

More accurate evaluation of iodine consumption of Koreans can be made by measuring the urinary iodine excretion of people living in representative areas. The data about average iodine excretions by region, sex and age were gathered in order to suggest as a factor the criteria on the progress or prognosis of thyroid disease patients. This study was conducted on 3,000 subjects (2,000 Younggwang-gun residents and 1,000 Muan-gun residents) between July 2004 and August 2005. The data sampling was done based on stratified random sampling and the data were analyzed according to age (the subjects were divided into age groups, five years each) and sex of the subjects. Of the 3,000 subjects, a total of 1,592 people (1,174 in Younggwang-gun and 418 in Muan-gun) participated in this study, which used ISE (iodine ion selective electrode) to measure the concentration of iodine in urine. The 1,592 subjects are composed of 732 males and 860 females. The average urinary iodine excretion was $3.10{\pm}1.75mg/L$ (0.31~15.2 mg/L). The average iodine excretion of males was $3.09{\pm}1.61mg/L$ (0.42~15.2 mg/L) while it was $3.11{\pm}1.86mg/L$ (0.31~12.5 mg/L) among females, which represents no significant difference between males and females. However, the values were significantly higher than those of Europeans and Americans. There were statistically significant differences among the regions. When the data were analyzed according to age, females in their 40s were found to have a little less urinary iodine excretion and males had less and less iodine excretion as they get older. These results are deemed to have a statistically significant difference. This study was conducted on a large number of people (N=1,592) for the first time in Korea. If the data collected through this study can be regarded as the average urinary iodine excretion of Koreans, it is possible to conclude that the average iodine consumptions of Koreans are a lot more than Europeans and Americans. Thus, the effect of much iodine consumption should be studied further.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.43-47
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• 2011

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is a vital enzyme in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, and there are literature reports describing its relationship between the ACE polymorphism and muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. The purpose of this study is to identify the distribution of the ACE gene polymorphism among individual golfers and the relationship between different golfers group. We analyzed the ACE gene polymorphism to study the individual differences among professional golfers (n=35), junior golfers (n=30) and general golfers (n=25). Genotype frequencies of DD, ID and II in total golfers (n=90) were 16.7%, 52.2% and 31.1% respectively. In professional golfers, the frequencies of DD, ID and II were 25.7%, 45.7% and 28.6% respectively. The frequency of DD genotype in professional golfers was higher than in junior golfers and in general golfers, but the II genotype in professional golfers was lower than in other groups. In conclusion, these data suggest that the capability and power of golf exercise are associated with the hereditary characteristics of the ACE polymorphism.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.275-284
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the effects of clinical practice stress on clinical practice satisfaction and to provide basic data for clinical practice improvement strategies. Methods: 150 students who had clinical experiences in Daegu Health College from June 12 to August 11, 2017 were selected by convenience sampling method and analyzed 130 questionnaires excluding 20 incomplete questionnaires. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) 22.0 for windows Results: The satisfaction on major and the type of residentice showed statistically significant effect on the clinical practice satisfaction. The training environment in practice and the interpersonal relationship conflicts mostly effect on clinical practice satisfaction. Conclusion : In order to increase the clinical practice satisfaction, it is necessary to consider ways to improve the practical training environment and reduce interpersonal conflicts.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7857-7861
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• 2014

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. Interleukin (IL)-18 is an immunoregulatory cytokine that induces potent NK cell-dependent anti-tumor responses when administrated with other cytokines. In this study, we explored the effects of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytotoxicity as well as expression levels of the NK cell receptor NKG2D in vitro. Freshly isolated PBMCs were incubated for 48 h with IL-18 and IL-2, then CD107a expression on $CD3^-CD56^+$ NK cells was determined by three-colour flow cytometry to evaluate the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human erythroleukemia K562 cells and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was also employed to determine NKG2D expression on NK cells. The combined use of IL-18 and IL-2 significantly increased CD107a expression on NK cells compared with using IL-18 or IL-2 alone, suggesting that the combination of these two cytokines exerted synergistic enhancement of NK cytotoxicity. IL-18 also enhanced NKG2D expression on NK cells when administered with IL-2. In addition, blockade of NKG2D signaling with NKG2D-blocking antibody attenuated the up-regulatory effect of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytolysis. Our data revealed that IL-18 synergized with IL-2 to dramatically enhance the cytolytic activity of human NK cells in a NKG2D-dependent manner. The results appear encouraging for the use of combined IL-18 and IL-2 in tumor immunotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3573-3577
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• 2015

Background: Sirtuin7 (SIRT7) is a type of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidized form (NAD+)-dependent deacetylase and the least understood member of the sirtuins family; it is implicated in various processes, such as aging, DNA damage repair and cell signaling transduction. There is some evidence that SIRT7 may function as a tumor trigger for human malignancy. Here, we aimed to explore the biological function of SIRT7 in ovarian carcinoma cells and its potential mechanism. Materials and Methods: Expression of SIRT7 in ovarian cancer cell lines was detected by western blotting. Transduced cell lines with SIRT7 knockdown or overexpression were constructed. Cell viability, cologenic, apoptosis-associated and motility assays were performed to elucidate the biological function of SIRT7 in ovarian cancer cells. Results: SIRT7 demonstrated a higher level in ovarian cancer cell lines compared with normal cells. On the one hand, down-regulation of SIRT7 significantly reduced ovarian cancer cell growth, repressed colony formation and increased cancer cell apoptosis; on the other hand, up-regulation promoted the migration of cancer cells. Additionally, repression of SIRT7 also induced change in apoptosis-related molecules and subunits of the NF-${\kappa}B$ family. Conclusions: In the present study, our data indicated that SIRT7 might play a role of oncogene in ovarian malignancy and be a potential therapeutic target.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2008

We determined the concentration of glucose, cholesterol, AST and ALT in sera of man workers (n=3,247) had health check-up at hospitls in Jeonbuk area. The mean of concentration of glucose, cholesterol and AST of all workers were increased by 0.1%, 14.9% and 33.0% over than the mean of reference, but the mean of ALT was decreased by 0.8% from it. The rate of workers showed abnormal value of glucose, cholesterol, AST and ALT were 9.7%, 25.4%, 23.7% and 5.5%, respectively. The mean of glucose, cholesterol and AST in each age group were increased over than reference, but the mean of ALT was decreased except in fifties. The rate of the workers in each age group showed an abnormal concentration of glucose, cholesterol, AST and ALT were in 5.6~6.7%, 14.9~31.1%, 20.4~29.2% and 5.2~6.0%, respectively. These data suggest that many workers in Jeonbuk area are opened in possibility of getting diabetes, liver disease and heart disease.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2008

In classical titrimetric analyses, the major concern is the concentration of titrant, usually the aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide, that could be changed as time goes by and it is accompanied with the inaccuracy of the resulting data. And the statistical approach, the nonlinear regression analysis, which is a well-known statistical method, was introduced to determine the accurate concentration of the titrant and the exact value of parameters, $K_a$, r, $C_a$, $C_b$, for 0.01 M aqueous solutions of analytes, sodium pyruvate, sodium acetate, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium hydroxide, ammonium chloride and acetic acid at $25^{\circ}C$. We used Gauss-Newton method for the linearlization of the nonlinear titration system and the two-parameter fitting showed appreciable convergent data for the parameters of the analytes set with the various range of $K_a$ value.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.128-135
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• 2020

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body and causes skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). The present study examined the antimicrobial resistance patterns and molecular epidemiological characteristics of MRSA isolated from nasal swabs in clinical patients. SCCmec type of MRSA isolates from clinical patients were analyzed: 24 cases were SCCmec type-II; two cases were type-II/IVa; one case was type-II/V; one case was type-IVa; 11 cases were not-typeable. The mec complex type of MRSA isolates from clinical patients were analyzed: 29 cases were mec complex type A, and 10 cases were not-typeable, but type B was not found in the present study. In conclusion, SCCmec type-II and mec complex type A were the most dominant MRSA subtypes among the MRSA isolates from a nasal swab of patients, and the results were similar to other studies on hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA). These results can not only provide basic data for hospital infection management but also be a good guideline for MRSA infections in the Republic of Korea.