• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.78.1-78.10
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• 2021

Background: Recurrent subclinical mastitis (RScM) due to resistant bacteria has low clinical and bacteriological cure rates, often requiring the culling of cows. The sequential intramammary administration of enrofloxacin hydrochloride-dihydrate (enro-C) followed by ceftiofur HCl may be useful for treating these cases. Objectives: This study assessed the bacteriological and clinical cure-efficacies of the sequentially intramammary administration of enro-C, followed by ceftiofur HCl to treat RScM in Holstein/Friesian cows. Methods: This trial was conducted in a herd with a high prevalence of RScM, and 20 Holstein/Friesian cows were included: 45% suffering subclinical mastitis and 38.9% of the mammary quarters affected. Twenty-nine bacterial isolates in vitro resistant to enro-C were obtained (coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp, 55.2%; Staphylococcus aureus, 27.6%; Escherichia coli, 6.9%; Streptococcus uberis, 6.9%; Corynebacterium bovis, 3.4%). Polymerase chain reaction-isolated the following genes linked to enro-C resistance: chromosomal (gyrA) and plasmid (aac(6')-lb-cr). The treatments were as follows: twice-daily intramammary infusions of enro-C (300 mg/10 mL) for 5 days. Cows clinically considered treatment failures were also treated with intramammary ceftiofur (125 mg/10 mL, twice daily for 5 days. The clinical and bacteriological cure rates were carried out when completing each treatment phase and at 14 and 21 days, aided by a California mastitis test, somatic cell count, and failure to identify the initially causative bacteria. Results: Enro-C achieved 65% clinical and bacteriological cure rates, and 100% cure rates were obtained after the rescue treatment with ceftiofur HCl. Conclusions: Outstanding clinical and bacteriological cure rates in cows affected by RScM were achieved with the consecutive intramammary infusions of enro-C, followed by ceftiofur HCl.

• Infection and chemotherapy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.328-339
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• 2018

Background: Pneumococcal disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in patients with comorbidities and advanced age. This study evaluated trends in epidemiology of adult pneumococcal disease in Crete, Greece, by identifying serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance of consecutive Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from adults during an 8-year time period (2009-2016) and the indirect effect of the infant pneumococcal higher-valent conjugate vaccines 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). Materials and Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by E-test and serotyping by Quellung reaction. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was defined as non-susceptibility to penicillin (PNSP) combined with resistance to ${\geq}2$ non-${\beta}$-lactam antimicrobials. Results: A total of 135 S. pneumoniae strains were isolated from adults during the study period. Twenty-one serotypes were identified with 17F, 15A, 3, 19A, and 11A, being the most common. The coverage rates of PCV10, and PCV13 were 17.8% and 37.8%, respectively. PCV13 serotypes decreased significantly from 68.4% in 2009 to 8.3% in 2016 (P = 0.002). The most important emerging non-PCV13 serotypes were 17F, 15A, and 11A, with 15A being strongly associated with antimicrobial resistance and MDR. Among all study isolates, penicillin-resistant and MDR strains represented 7.4% and 14.1%, respectively. Predominant PNSP serotypes were 19A (21.7%), 11A (17.4%), and 15A (17.4%). Erythromycin, clindamycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and levofloxacin resistant rates were 30.4%, 15.6%, 16.3%, 16.3%, and 1.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Although pneumococcal disease continues to be a health burden in adults in Crete, our study reveals a herd protection effect of the infant pneumococcal higher-valent conjugate vaccination. Surveillance of changes in serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance among pneumococcal isolates are necessary to guide optimal prevention and treatment strategies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2022

Background: The global shift toward greener societies demands new technologies and work operations in the waste-management sector. However, progressive industrial methods do not necessarily consider workers' health. This study characterized workers' exposure to bioaerosols and investigated the bioaerosols' potential to engage the immune system in vitro. Methods: Full shift personal aerosol sampling was conducted over three consecutive days. Dust load was analyzed by gravimetry, fungal and actinobacterial spores were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and endotoxin by limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. In vitro exposure of HEK cells to airborne dust samples was used to investigate the potential of inducing an inflammatory reaction. Results: The total dust exposure level exceeded the recommended occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 5.0 mg/m³ in 3 out of 15 samples. The inhalable endotoxin level exceeded the recommended exposure level by a 7-fold, whereas the fungal spore level exceeded the recommended exposure level by an 11-fold. Actinobacterial spores were identified in 8 out of 14 samples. In vitro experiments revealed significant TLR2 activation in 9 out of 14 samples vs. significant TLR4 activation in all samples. Conclusion: The present study showed that the dust samples contained potentially health-impairing endotoxin, fungi, and actinobacterial levels. Furthermore, the sampled dust contained microbial components capable of inducing TLR activation and thus have the potential to evoke an inflammatory response in exposed individuals.

• 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 Applied Biomechanics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how the movements occurring during the follow-through phase after releasing an arrow among elite compound archers, are associated with the arrow impact points on the target. Method: Nine elite archers performed consecutive compound archery shooting under conditions identical to actual competitions using their own bows and equipment. Motion capture system and force platform were utilized to record the changes in joint positions and center of pressure, respectively. Principal component analysis was employed to identify the patterns in which multidimensional joint positions and COP changes were organized with horizontal and vertical coordinates of arrow impact points. Subsequently, correlation analysis quantified the relationship between individual variables and the coordinates of arrow impacts on the target. Results: We found a common organizational pattern in which the two axes of the impact point coordinates were grouped into the first two principal components. The movements of the upper and lower limbs following release exhibited opposite patterns in the anterior-posterior axis, with significant correlations observed between the arrow impact points of the horizontal axis and the left shoulder, right elbow, left hip, and both knees. Additionally, the lateral movements induced by the reaction force upon arrow release showed significant associations with the vertical coordinates of the impact points. Particularly, the correlations between the movements of the left shoulder and elbow, as well as the bilateral hip and right knee, were consistently observed among all participants. Conclusion: These findings implied that the post-release movements could significantly influence the trajectory and impact points of the arrows in compound archery. We suggest that a consistent and controlled movement during the follow-through phase may be more beneficial for optimizing shooting accuracy and precision rather than minimizing movements.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.51-65
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• 2002

This study was carried out to apply some basic physical and chemical treatment options including Fenton's oxidation, and to evaluate the performances and the characteristics of organic and nitrogen removal using lab-scale biological treatment system such as complete-mixing activated sludge and sequencing batch reactor(SBR) processes for the treatment of leachate from a municipal waste landfill in Gyeongnam province. The results were as follows: Chemical coagulation experiments using aluminium sulfate, ferrous sulfate and ferric chloride resulted in leachate CO $D_{Cr}$ removal of 32%, 23% and 21 % with optimum reaction dose ranges of 10,000～15,000 mg/$\ell$, 1,000 mg/$\ell$ and 500～2,000 mg/$\ell$, respectively. Fenton's oxidation required the optimum conditions including pH 3.5, 6 hours of reaction time, and hydrogen peroxide and ferrous sulfate concentrations of 2,000 ～ 3,000 mg/$\ell$ each with 1:1 weight ratio to remove more than 50% of COD in the leachate containing CO $D_{Cr}$ between 2,000 ～ 3,000 mg/$\ell$. Air-stripping achieved to remove more than 97% of N $H_3$-N in the leachate in spite of requiring high cost of chemicals and extensive stripping time, and, however, zeolite treatment removing 94% of N $H_3$-N showed high selectivity to N $H^{+}$ ion and much faster removal rate than air-stripping. The result from lab-scale experiment using a complete-mixing activated sludge process showed that biological treatability tended to increase more or less as HRT increased or F/M ratio decreased, and, however, COD removal efficiency was very poor by showing only 36% at HRT of 29 days. While COD removal was achieved more during Fenton's oxidation as compared to alum treatment for the landfill leachate, the ratio of BOD/COD after Fenton's oxidation considerably increased, and the consecutive activated sludge process significantly reduced organic strength to remove 50% of CO $D_{Cr}$ and 95% of BO $D_{5}$ . The SBR process was generally more capable of removing organics and nitrogen in the leachate than complete-mixing activated sludge process to achieve 74% removal of influent CO $D_{Cr}$ , 98% of BO $D_{5}$ and especially 99% of N $H_3$-N. However, organic removal rates of the SBR processes pre-treated with air-stripping and with zeolite were not much different with those without pre-treatment, and the SBR process treated with powdered activated carbon showed a little higher rate of CO $D_{Cr}$ removal than the process without any treatment. In conclusion, the biological treatment process using SBR proved to be the most applicable for the treatment of organic contents and nitrogen simultaneously and effectively in the landfill leachate.e.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.452-458
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• 2005

Background : In Korea, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for M. tuberculosis has been used for the diagnosis of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear-negative tuberculosis in order to increase diagnostic sensitivity. However, there have been no data dealing with the clinical utility of PCR in AFB smear-positive patients to differentiate between M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria. Method : We retrospectively analyzed the PCR test results which have been performed in patients who had AFB smear-positive sputum but had ambiguous clinical manifestations of active tuberculosis. PCR test was done using $AMPLICOR^{\hat{a}}$ M. tuberculosis kit. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the PCR test were calculated based on culture and final clinical diagnosis result. Results : Fifty-six consecutive patients (62 PCR tests) were included in the study. Active tuberculosis was diagnosed in 23 patients (41.0%), while 9 patients had NTM infection (16.0%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive- and negative-predictive value of PCR test were 88.8%, 86.8%, 76.1% and 94.3%, respectively, according to the culture result. In comparison, they were 91.3%, 100%, 100%, 94.3%, respectively, according to the final clinical diagnosis. All 15 patients with NTM isolates, including 6 patients who had other lung diseases but expectorated NTM isolate, were negative for PCR test. Conclusion : Even though tuberculosis is still prevalent in Korea, PCR test is useful to differentiate between M. tuberculosis and NTM in patients with AFB-smear positive sputum but with ambiguous clinical manifestations of active tuberculosis.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.87-99
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• 2002

The development of insecticidal soaps made by various fatty acids and organic control for insect by using of insecticidal soap(fatty acid salts) were employed. And the results were as follows: 1. To determine the input volume of potassium hydroxide for saponification of fatty acids, there were compared to individual acid value of fatty acids. in case of coconut fatty acids for saponification was 266.3 mg of potassium hydroxide(266 g/1kg of fatty acid) was calculated. 2. To make the 25% soap content by coconut fatty acids, there was required for the 266g of potassium hydroxide and 3,459 liter of soft water. Then the liquor of soap was 4,644 liter. 3. The progress of insecticidal soap made by fatty acids was accomplished indirect heating and stirring reactor (1)to make the volume of potassium hydroxide solution and warming up(90$^{\circ}$) (2)input volume of individual fatty acid (3)more than 30 min stirring reaction (4)cooling progress. 4. Insecticidal value of insecticidal soap was observed more than 92% the dilution of 50 dilution solution in consecutive 5 days of 2 treatments of the 25% soap made by coconut fatty acids on the red pepper. And insecticidal value of insecticidal soap was observed more than 94% the 100 dilution solution in consecutive 5 days of 3 treatments of the 25% soap made by coconut fatty acids on red pepper and cabbage. 5. The treatment of two times of 25% soap made by coconut fatty acids at the 50 dilution solution and 100 dilution solution in spider mite on red bean has 100% insecticidal value. 6. There was no observation phytotoxic sypmtons on red pepper in field, except for 25% soap made by carprylic acid. 7. Over the two times over 0.1% in addition of isopropyl alcohol was to improvement the insecticidal effect, but there was no effect in addition of diatomaceous earth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-122
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• 2003

Background and Objectives : $VoCoM^{\circledR}$ is a commercialized set composed of prefabricated hydroxylapatite implants and shims of various sizes which are specially designed for the type I thyroplasty. Even though a previously published preliminary report showed that $VoCoM^{\circledR}$ is a convenient and safe product for the type I thyroplasty, further investigations or experiences are yet to be reported. Authors aimed to evaluate the efficacy of $VoCoM^{\circledR}$type I thyroplasty, and its advantage and/or disadvantage. Materials and Method : Twenty three consecutive patients with unilateral vocal cord palsy enrolled for the study, who received type I thyroplasty with $VoCoM^{\circledR}$ between July 2001 and June 2003. Acoustic, aerodynamic and stoboscopic analyses were performed prior to surgery and 1 to 3 months after surgery. Speech language pathologists evaluated their voice quality by GRBAS scale, and patients themselves reported subjective changes of their voice by visual analog scale. Results : The average time for the operation was 80 min, which is about 30 min less than other methods. Preoperative jitter was 3.25$\pm$1.65% and improved to 1.94$\pm$1.79% postoperatively (p<0.05). Preoperative shimmer was 9.72$\pm$6.56% and improved to 5.61 $\pm$3.76% (p<0.05), Maximal phonation time increased from 4.41$\pm$2.99 to 7.98$\pm$4.35 sec (p<0.05) The postoperative stroboscopy revealed an effective medialization in 91.3% of the patients. The subjective phonetic improvements were reported in 21 out of 23 patients. GRBAS scale improved from 2.71$\pm$0.46 to 1.47$\pm$1.12(p<0.05). Additional medialization with $Gore-Tex^{\circledR}$ was easily performed in two revision cases. Previously inserted $VoCoM^{\circledR}$ implant was hard to remove because of the tight integration of soft tissues around the implant. Side effects such as extrusion or foreign body reaction are not observed. $VoCoM^{\circledR}$ was relatively expensive and costed more than 10 times of $Gore-Tex^{\circledR}$. Conclusion : Prefabricated hydroxylapatitie implant($VoCoM^{\circledR}$) provides a convenient, safe and efficient way of vocal fold medialization. However it is relatively expensive and hard to remove.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.660-664
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• 2006

The relationship between H. pylori clarithromycin resistance and genetic pattern distribution has been differently explained from different geographic areas. Therefore, we aimed to assess the clarithromycin resistance rate, to evaluate the bacterial genetic pattern, and to search for a possible association between clarithromycin resistance and cagA or vacA genes. This prospective study enrolled 62 consecutive H. pylori infected patients. The infection was established by histology and rapid urease test. Clarithromycin resistance, cagA and vacA status, including s/m subtypes, were assessed on paraffin-embedded antral biopsy specimens by TaqMan real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Primary clarithromycin resistance was detected in 24.1 % of cases. The prevalence of cagA was 69.3%, and a single vacA mosaicism was observed in 95.1 % cases. In detail, the s1m1 was observed in 23 (38.9%) patients, the s1m2 in 22 (37.2%), and the s2m2 in 14 (23.7%), whereas the s2m1 combination was never found. The prevalence of cagA and the vacA alleles distribution did not significantly differ between susceptible and resistant strains. Primary clarithromycin resistance is high in our area. The s1m1 and s1m2 are the most frequent vacA mosaicisms. There is no a relationship between clarithromycin resistance and bacterial genotypic pattern and/or cagA positivity.