• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2017

Fascioliasis is a foodborne zoonotic parasitic disease. We report 4 cases occurring in the same family, in whom diagnosis of acute fascioliasis was established after series of tests. One case was hospitalized with fever, eosinophilia, and hepatic lesions. MRI showed hypodense changes in both liver lobes. The remaining 3 cases presented with the symptom of stomachache only. Stool analysis was positive for Fasciola eggs in 2 adult patients. The immunological test and molecular identification of eggs were confirmed at the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China. The results of serological detection were positive in all the 4 patients. DNA sequencing of PCR products of the eggs demonstrated 100% homology with ITS and cox1 of Fasciola hepatica. The conditions of the patients were not improved by broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drugs until administration of triclabendazole.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.529-540
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• 2020

Water inrush is a major hazard for mining and excavation in deep coal seams or rock masses. It can be attributed to the coalescence of rock fractures in rock mass due to the interaction of fractures, hydraulic flow and stress field. One of the key technical challenges is to understand the course and mechanism of fluid flows in rock joint networks and fracture propagation and hence to take measures to prevent the formation of water inrush channels caused by possible rock fracturing. Several case observations of fluid flowing in rock joint networks and coupled fracture propagation in underground coal roadways are shown in this paper. A number of numerical simulations were done using the recently developed flow coupling function in FRACOD which simulates explicitly the fracture initiation and propagation process. The study has demonstrated that the shortest path between the inlet and outlet in joint networks will become a larger fluid flow channel and those fractures nearest to the water source and the working faces become the main channel of water inrush. The fractures deeper into the rib are mostly caused by shearing, and slipping fractures coalesce with the joint, which connects the water source and eventually forming a water inrush channel.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.421-428
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• 2018

In deep mining, the lateral deformation of strip coal pillar appears to be a new characteristic. In order to study the lateral deformation of coal-mass, a monitoring method and monitoring instrument were designed to investigate the lateral deformation of strip coal pillar in Tangkou Coalmine with the mining depth of over 1000 m. Because of without influence of repeated mining, the bedding sandstone roof is easy to break and the angle between maximum horizontal stress and the roadway is small, the maximum lateral deformation is only about 287 mm lower than the other pillars in the same coalmine. In deep mining, the energy accumulation and release cause a discontinuous damage in the heterogeneous coal-mass, and the lateral deformation of coal pillar shows discontinuity, step and mutation characters. These coal-masses not only show a higher plasticity but also the high brittleness at the same time, and its burst tendency is more obvious. According to the monitoring results and theoretical calculations, the yield zone of the coal pillar width is determined as 15.6 m. The monitoring results presented through this study are of great significance to the stability analysis and design of coal pillar.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1621-1628
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• 2015

Chlamydia possesses a conserved 7.5 kb plasmid that is known to play an important role in chlamydial pathogenesis, since some chlamydial organisms lacking the plasmid are attenuated. The chlamydial transformation system developed recently required the use of plasmid-free organisms. Thus, the generation and identification of plasmid-free organisms represent a key step in understanding chlamydial pathogenic mechanisms. A tricolor immunofluorescence assay for simultaneously detecting the plasmid-encoded Pgp3 and whole organisms plus DNA staining was used to screen C. muridarum organisms selected with novobiocin. PCR was used to detect the plasmid genes. Next-generation sequencing was then used to sequence the genomes of plasmid-free C. muridarum candidates and the parental C. muridarum Nigg strain. We generated five independent clones of plasmid-free C. muridarum organisms by using a combination of novobiocin treatment and screening plaque-purified clones with anti-Pgp3 antibody. The clones were confirmed to lack plasmid genes by PCR analysis. No GlgA protein or glycogen accumulation was detected in cells infected with the plasmid-free clones. More importantly, whole-genome sequencing characterization of the plasmid-free C. muridarum organism and the parental C. muridarum Nigg strain revealed no additional mutations other than loss of the plasmid in the plasmid-free C. muridarum organism. Thus, the Pgp3-based immunofluorescence assay has allowed us to identify authentic plasmid-free organisms that are useful for further investigating chlamydial pathogenic mechanisms.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1728-1735
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• 2014

Scrub typhus, caused by infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi, is a mite-borne zoonotic disease endemic to the Asian-Pacific region. In Korea, the incidence of this disease has increased with climate changes, and over 10,000 cases of infection were reported in 2013. Although this infection is treatable with antibiotics such as doxycycline and azithromycin, an effective prophylactic vaccine against O. tsutsugamushi would be more desirable for preventing scrub typhus in endemic areas. In this study, we investigated the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA56), which is a major outer membrane protein of O. tsutsugamushi, as a vaccine candidate. Intranasal immunization of recombinant TSA56 (rec56) induced a higher level of TSA56-specific IgG than that induced by intramuscular immunization of tsa56-expressing DNA (p56). Both types of immunization induced a cell-mediated immune response to TSA56, as demonstrated by the splenic cell proliferation assay. Mice immunized with p56, followed by rec56 plus heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit from E. coli, had a stronger protection from a homologous challenge with the O. tsutsugamushi Boryong strain than with other combinations. Our preliminary results suggest that an effective human vaccine for scrub typhus can include either recombinant TSA56 protein or tsa56-expressing DNA, and provide the basis for further studies to optimize vaccine performance using additional antigens or different adjuvants.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.499-511
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• 2019

The reliability of reinforced concrete structures is frequently compromised by the deterioration caused by reinforcement corrosion. Evaluating the effect caused by reinforcement corrosion on structural behaviour of corrosion damaged concrete structures is essential for effective and reliable infrastructure management. In lifecycle management of corrosion affected reinforced concrete structures, it is difficult to correctly assess the lifecycle performance due to the uncertainties associated with structural resistance deterioration. This paper presents a stochastic deterioration modelling approach to evaluate the performance deterioration of corroded concrete structures during their service life. The flexural strength deterioration is analytically predicted on the basis of bond strength evolution caused by reinforcement corrosion, which is examined by the experimental and field data available. An assessment criterion is defined to evaluate the flexural strength deterioration for the time-dependent reliability analysis. The results from the worked examples show that the proposed approach is capable of evaluating the structural reliability of corrosion damaged concrete structures.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.259-262
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• 2012

We assessed the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection and changes in the egg positive rate (EPR) over 1-year time, using the adhesive cellophane-tape perianal swab method in 2,347 preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea in 2008 and 2009. The overall EPR for E. vermicularis was 4.1% in 2008 and 4.5% in 2009. A study population of 389 children was repeatedly examined for 2 years. Within this group, the EPR in 2009 was twice higher than in 2008, and the EPR of the group of 5-7-year-old children was significantly higher than that of other age groups. Moreover, in the group of 5-7-year-old children in 2009, the rates of positive and negative conversion were significantly higher and lower, respectively, than in other age groups. Conclusively, enterobiasis was prevalent during 2008-2009 among preschool children in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, and the increased EPR in 2009 was due to an increase in newly acquired infections among 5-7-year-old children.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.297-314
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• 2016

With the mining depth continuously increasing, gas emission behaviors become more and more complex. Gas emission is an important basis for choosing the method of gas drainage, gas controlling. Thus, the accurate prediction of gas emission is of great significance for coal mine. In this work, based on the sources of gas emission from the heading faces and the fluid-solid coupling process, we established a gas continuous dynamic emission model, numerically simulated and applied it to the engineering. The result was roughly consistent with the actual situation and shows the model is correct. We proposed the measures of reducing the excavation distance and borehole gas drainage based on the model. The measures were applied and the result shows the overproof problem of gas emission disappears. The model considered the influence factors of gas emission wholly, and has a wide applicability, promotional value. The research is of great significance for the controlling of gas disaster, gas drainage and pre-warning coal and gas outbursts based on gas emission anomaly at the heading face.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2009

The quality assurance (QA) is of utmost importance in biobanks when archived biomaterials are distributed to biomedical researchers. For sample authentication and cross-contamination detection, the two fundamental elements of QA, STR genotyping is usually utilized. However, the incorporated number of STR markers is highly redundant for biobanking purposes, resulting in time and cost inefficiency. An index to measure the cross-contamination detection capability of an STR marker, the mixture probability (MP), was developed. MP as well as other forensic parameters for STR markers was validated using STR genotyping data on 2328 normal Koreans with the commercial AmpFlSTR kit. For Koreans, 7 STR marker (D2S1338, FGA, D18S51, D8S1179, D13S317, D21S11, vWA) set was sufficient to provide discrimination power of ${\sim}10^{-10}$ and cross-contamination detection probability of ${sim}1$. Interestingly, similar marker sets were obtained from African Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Hispanic Americans under the same level of discrimination power. Only a small subset of commonly used STR markers is sufficient for QA purposes in biobanks. A procedure for selecting optimal STR markers is outlined using STR genotyping results from normal Korean population.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.559-573
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• 2020

The purpose of this study analyzed the overview of corrugated cardboasrd manufacturing industry and then provide direction for improvement. The BREF (BAT reference document) is an important reference for licensees and officer, including the best available techniques for the industry and achievable environmental performance, technical characteristics, and economic information. In the corrugated cardboard manufacturing process, wastewater pollutants are generated throughout the production process, and water is used in the dissociation and aging process. Atmospheric emissions are mostly generated by steam production from boilers and incinerators for the dry process. SO₂, NOx, CO₂, CO, HCl, dust, VOC, and odor were common. In the EU-BREF (European union BAT reference documents) BAT for wastewater have taken up a relatively large proportion. Items of water pollutants in wastewater were common in COD, BOD, N, P, SS, and however EU-BREF had different pollutants such as AOX and salt compared to K-BREF. In order to improve the quality of the K-BREF, it is necessary to devise basic data research method and data acqusitiom method. Consideration should be given to additional environmental management techniques that reflect the emissions characteristics of the corrugated cardboard manufacturing process. In addition, further research is needed to develop methodologies for selecting BATs considering environmental and economic feasibility.