• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.953-958
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• 2016

Chitosan-based film-forming gel is regarded as a promising vehicle for topical delivery of antimicrobial agents to skin wounds, since it protects from microbial infection and the cationic polymer itself possesses antibacterial activity. In this study, possible synergistic interaction against common skin pathogens between the cationic polymer and tyrothricin (TRC), a cyclic polypeptide antibiotic, was investigated, by determining the concentration to inhibit 90% of bacterial isolates (MIC). The addition of the polysaccharide to TRC dramatically reduced the MIC values of TRC by 1/33 and 1/4 against both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The synergism of TRC and chitosan combination against both strains was demonstrated by the checkerboard method, with a fractional inhibitory concentration index below 0.5. Moreover, co-treatment of TRC and chitosan exhibited antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, due to the antibacterial activity of chitosan, whereas TRC itself did not inhibit the gram-negative bacterial growth. These findings suggested that the use of chitosan-based film for topical delivery of TRC could be an alternative to improve TRC antimicrobial activity against strains that are abundant in skin wounds.

• Mycobiology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2004

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of pre-inoculation with the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus clarum and foliar application of kinetin on the growth of mungbean plant irrigated wht different dilution of seawater. Arbuscular-mycorrhizal(AM) infection significantly increased dry weight, height, chlorophyll, sugar and protein content, nitrogen and phosphorus-use efficiencies, leaf conductivity, transpiration rate, nitrogenase, acid and alkaline phosphates activities of all salinized mungbean plants in comparison with control and non-mycorrhizal plants irrespective of the presence or absence of kinetin. Mycorrrhizal plants showed higher concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg and lower Na/N, Na/P, Na/K, Na/Ca and Na/Mg ratios than non-mycorrhizal plants when irrigated with certain dilution of seawater. Mungbean plants showed 597% and 770% dependency on AM fungus G. clarum in absence and presence of kinetin, respectively, for biomass production under a level of 30% of seawater. The average value of tolerance index for mycorrhizal plants accounted 267% and 364% in absence and presence kinetin respectively. This study provides evidence for the benefits of kinetin which are actually known for mycorrhizal than non-mycorrhzal plants. AM fungus and kinetin protected the host plants against the detrimental effects of salt. However, mycorrhizal infection was much more effective than kinetin applications. Thus management applications of this arbuscular mycorrhizal endophyte(G. clarum) with kinetin could be of importance in using seawater in certain dilution for irrigation in agriculture.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.148-152
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• 2011

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, but life-threatening infection. Prompt diagnosis and early aggressive intervention is required for survival. However, there has been frequently occurred in delays of diagnosis and treatment due to its non-specific nature. Therefore, a high index of suspicion is needed to ensure timely intervention. We report a case of necrotizing fasciitis in a 7-day-old term healthy neonate.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.155-158
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiviral activity of Phaeophyta extracts against feline calicivirus (FCV), used as a norovirus surrogate. A bioassay-guided cytotoxicity and virus infectivity assay revealed that methanolic extracts of Phaeophyta possessed significant antiviral activity against FCV. Among them, Eisenia bicyclis extract exhibited the highest antiviral activity against FCV. The 50% effective concentration of the extract ($EC_{50}$) inhibiting FCV viral replication by 50% was $80{\mu}g/mL$. The extract also showed the highest selectivity index, calculated from the ratio of the median cellular cytotoxicity concentration ($CC_{50}$) and $EC_{50}$, indicating antiviral efficacy against FCV. In addition, significant interruption of FCV infection was observed by pretreatment of host Crandall-Reese feline kidney cells with the E. bicyclis extract ($200{\mu}g/mL$) prior to virus infection, in a dosedependent manner.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.7-18
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to present the learning items of indirect practice as an alternative means of ambulance riding practice. Methods: Twelve on-site professionals participated in testing the effectiveness of learning items of utility value in indirect experience practice among the recommended learning objectives of ambulance ride practice using the modified Delphi technique. To validate the learning objectives, the Delphi technique was used to check content validity, and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was used to analyze the weighting value. Results: As the learning goal of indirect experience practice replaced the ambulance riding practice, four items were derived in consideration of practicality. These items were consistent with the Delphi panel's consistency index, convergence, and agreement. The first learning item to consider was 'Prevention of infection and risk of infection.' Conclusion: The results of this study are meaningful in that they propose the learning items that can achieve the minimum educational goal through indirect experience practice as an alternative means of ambulance training.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.399-404
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• 2019

Scabies is a parasitic skin infection with intense itching. Scabies infection seriously impairs quality of life, while outbreaks in medical institutions cause financial losses. This study aimed to present the annual and seasonal trend of prevalence of scabies in the national population. Scabies cases were extracted from National Health Insurance Service database and its epidemiologic characteristics were assessed. To analyze the seasonality of scabies occurrence, temperature and humidity were included in the model as weather factors, and the per capita gross national income index was adjusted. The annual prevalence by age group was 0.56-0.69 per 1,000 persons until the age of 40 years and peaked at 3.0-4.1 per 1,000 persons in the age group over 80 years. The number of women diagnosed with scabies has been consistently higher compared to that of men since 2010. Mean number of cases diagnosed as scabies was lowest in spring, approximately 4,000 cases, when the average temperature was less than $5^{\circ}C$ at 2 months prior, whereas more than 6,000 scabies cases occurred in autumn when temperatures exceeded $25^{\circ}C$ at 2 months prior. This study presents the epidemiological characteristics and seasonality of all cases nationwide over 8 years and will help to establish control policies.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.19.1-19.10
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• 2020

Given that the current Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infection in wild birds poses the threat to poultry, surveillance of Newcastle disease in captive wild birds was carried out in Jilin, China in 2018. Here, an NDV strain obtained from toco toucan was firstly characterized. The results showed that the F gene of the NDV isolate Toucan/China/3/2018 is classified as genotype II in class II. Sequence analysis of the F0 cleavage site was ¹¹³RQGR/L¹¹⁷, which supports the result of the intracerebral pathogenicity index assay indicating classification of the isolate as low-pathogenicity. Experimental infection demonstrated that Toucan/China/3/2018 can effectively replicate and transmit among chickens. To our knowledge, this is the first report on genetically and pathogenically characterizing NDV strain isolated from toucan, which enriches the epidemiological information of NDV in wild birds.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.242-254
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• 2023

Although upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common diseases, there have been no studies of their relationship with the indices obtained from tongue image analyses. The purpose of this study was to identify a tongue index through an analysis of tongue images (TIs) showing significant changes before and after treatment in patients with URTIs. A computerized tongue image acquisition system was developed to acquire TIs from subjects in the same environment. An image was taken from each of 39 URTI patients and 39 healthy controls. For the patients, images were acquired before and after treatment to identify changes. The tongue area was classified into a tongue body and a tongue coating, and the coating ratio between the two areas, the average value of the colour of each area, and teeth marks were calculated. No significant difference was observed in age or sex between the URTI patients and control participants. Heart rates were slightly different. The analysis of TIs showed that the luminance of the tongue coating and the coating area ratio were decreased, while the reddish value of the tongue body at the centre area increased as the treatment progressed. Tongue coating and body in URTIs had different colour and shape from those in the normal. It is expected that this result will contribute not only to the objectification of traditional Chinese medicine but also to diagnostic methods that do not involve face-to-face physician visit during the pandemic.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 2024

The indications for total hip replacement are increasing and not limited to osteoarthritis. Total hip replacement may also be done for trauma and pathological fractures in patients otherwise physiologically fit and active. This trend has led to an inevitable rise in complications such as periprosthetic femoral fracture. Periprosthetic femoral fracture can be challenging due to poor bone quality, osteoporosis, and stress fractures. We present a case of periprosthetic femoral fracture in a 71-year-old woman with some components of an atypical femoral fracture. The fracture was internally fixed but was subsequently complicated by infection, implant failure needing revision, and later stress fracture. She was on a bisphosphonate after her index total hip replacement surgery for an impending pathological left proximal femur fracture, and this may have caused the later stress fracture. Unfortunately, she then experienced implant breakage (nonunion), which was treated with a biplanar locking plate and bone grafting. The patient finally regained her premorbid mobility 13 months after the last surgery and progressed satisfactorily towards bony union.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyze each country's infectious disease response capacities and, based on this, find areas for improvement in Korea's infectious disease management response. Methods: First, the capacity to respond to the COVID-19 infectious disease was analyzed by country using the SPAR scores of 96 countries around the world released by WHO in 2022. Second, we analyzed each country's specific COVID-19 quarantine performance using Our World in Data and the Global Health Security Index (GHSI). Results: First, the quarantine intensity index on January 24, 2021 was the highest in the Southeast Asia branch at 67.6, which had strong quarantine measures, and the lowest at 44.5 in the Africa branch. As of December 31, 2022, the quarantine intensity index in Europe was significantly lowered to 11.6. Second, the factor that influenced the SPAR indicator on the total number of patients per million population was national laboratory (C4), p=.027, and the factor that influenced the total number of deaths per million population was infection prevention and control (C9), p=.005., Risk Communication and Community Participation (C10) p=.040. The influential factor on GDP per capita was infection prevention and control (C9) p=.009, and the influential factor on GHSI was infection prevention and control (C9) p=.002. Conclusion: The research findings indicate that it was difficult to find a correlation between the SPAR, which is each country's self-assessment of their infectious disease capacities, and the number of COVID-19 cases or the intensity of pandemic responses. However, mortality rates, as well as factors such as the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) and national income, appear to be somewhat influenced. For future improvements in infectious disease management and response in our country, it is necessary to develop pandemic strategies that can reduce socio-economic costs based on more scientific and reliable data like JEE or GHSI, especially in preparation for potential unknown emerging infectious diseases. Based on this, proactive decision-making led by a control tower of experts and effective health communication are also required to respond to public health crises at a national level.