• 고신대학교 의과대학 학술지
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.337-346
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• 2018

Objectives: Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a specific biomarker that rises after bacterial infection, and levels of PCT are known to correlate with the severity and mortality of patients with pneumonia and sepsis. However, the usefulness of PCT levels in acute pyelonephritis is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using the PCT level as a predictive test for bacteremia in acute pyelonephritis. Methods: Between January 2012 and June 2013, 140 patients diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis were admitted to Haeundae Paik Hospital. Serum PCT, C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell (WBC) levels at pre- and post- treatment were measured. Blood and urine cultures were obtained from all patients. The levels of PCT, CRP, and WBCs were each compared between the blood culture-positive and blood culture-negative groups to assess their effectiveness in predicting bacteremia. Results: Pre-treatment PCT level was 0.77 ng/mL (95% CI: 0.42-1.60 ng/mL) in the blood culture-negative group and 4.89 ng/mL (95% CI: 2.88-9.04 ng/mL) in the blood culture-positive group, and the increase between the two groups was statistically significant. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of PCT level for prediction of bacteremia was 0.728. A cut-off value of 1.23 ng/mL indicated a sensitivity of 79.0 % and specificity of 60.0 % for PCT level. Conclusions: Serum PCT level is a useful predictive test for bacteremia in acute pyelonephritis. Through the early detection of bacteremia, serum PCT level can help estimate the prognosis and predict complications such as sepsis.

• 보험의학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.18-20
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• 2008

I have taught various case audit underwriting methods to underwriters for many years. Underwriting requires specialized medical knowledge and experience of comprehensive individual risk analysis. Decisions in individualized underwriting depend on the insurance company's management philosophy and vision, marketing strategies, culture, product line etc. They also depend on the information acquired through proposal forms, inspection reports, laboratory results and disclosures. Underwriters match this acquired information to each insurance product, search appropriate medical resources, assess the probabilities of future claims, and decide what, if any, further medical information should be gathered. Sources include doctors' reports, medical records, biopsies, blood and urine tests, CT, MRI, Holter monitoring, sonography etc. Insurance medical directors help and teach underwriters to analyze individual medical risks and make effective.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제57권2호
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• pp.139-141
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• 2017

An 8-year-old castrated male Shih Tzu dog (weighing 7.0 kg) presented with anemia and lethargy. Initial diagnosis indicated immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. During therapy, a secondary urinary infection, probably due to the immune suppressive therapy, was diagnosed. Subsequent diagnostic tests, including urinalysis and urine culture, indicated candidal cystitis. Despite ketoconazole therapy for candidal cystitis, the dog died suddenly. A Candida albicans infection was confirmed upon postmortem evaluation. Prolonged immunosuppressive therapy might be the cause of this infection. This is the first case report describing a Candida albicans urinary tract infection accompanied by hemolytic anemia in a dog in Korea.

• 대한예방한의학회지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.55-66
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• 2003

Osteoporosis is characterized by bone loss and mobidity with osteoporotic fracture. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of on the bone mass and its related factors in estrogen-deficient animal model. The model rats of osteoporsis showed a significant decrease in bone density, bone ash density, calcium content of femur bone. At the 14th day after ovariectomy-surgery, rats were administered with DBE, extract of Dioscorea batatas, per orally, and continued for 10 weeks. And osteoporosis related parameters were determined to investigate the effect of DBE. Osteoporetic rats showed lower serum estrogen level, higher body weight than normal rats, and showed atrophy of uterine horns. DBE showed inhibitory effect on bone loss in osteoporetic condition, and reduced the increase of ALP activity and osteocalcin level in serum, and reduced the increase of OH-proline level in urine. But, DBE had no effect on cell proliferation and ALP activity in rat calvarial cell culture.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.152-167
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• 2004

Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) have attracted great interest in recent researchers as alternative medicines for incurable diseases. This review focuses on qualitative and quantitative analytical approaches for bioactive metabolites of components flavonoids and saponins of traditional Chinese medicines by TLC system, although various methods have been introduced. Emphasis will be put on the processes of metabolite extraction from intestinal bacterial cultures or urines, separation (mobile phase) and detection. The identified metabolites by selection of extraction solvent and detection methods are also discussed. In addition, metabolite determinations of flavonoids (baicalin, apiin, rutin, quercetin, quercitrin, kaempferol, diosmin, hesperidin, poncirin, naringin, puerarin, daidzin, daidzein, tectoridin) and saponins (ginsenosides, kalopanaxsaponins, glycyrrhizin, chiisanoside, saikosaponins, soyasaponins) in culture fluid, in urine and in some herbal formula extracts are summarized. These bioactive metabolites of these components by intestinal microflora should be connected to pharmacological actions.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.501-503
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• 2003

Urolithiasis (UL) is a common disease of canine. Analysis of urinary stone is an essential step in the examination and initial treatment of the patient with UL. The dead maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), male, was introduced to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Chungbuk National University. The maned wolf was imported from USA to Cheong-ju zoo. Postmortem sign of maned wolf was hemorrhage of bladder with a many stones. No bacteria was shown with bacterial culture of urine. But in feces, Clostridium perfringens were overgrown. Bladder stone from maned wolf was composed of calcium oxalate. Calcium oxalate was formed with excess calcium from diet mainly meat base.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.47-51
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• 2009

A case of recurrent urinary tract infection by cysteine-requiring Escherichia coli in a 5-years-old child with congenital vesicoureteral reflux is described. This bacterium was not grown on MacConkey agar plate for overnight culture, and after 48hrs, tiny colonies were observed. These colonies were not identified by VITEK2 and Walkaway 96i without cysteine supplementation. The isolate was susceptible for cefotetan, ciprofloxacin and imipenem, and resistant for piperacillin/tazobactam, cephalothin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, amikacin, gentamicin, and tobramycin.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.136-139
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• 2023

Although cardiac myxoma is one of the most common types of benign cardiac tumors, infected cardiac myxoma is very infrequent. The diagnosis of infected cardiac myxoma may be challenging because the presenting symptoms are non-specific and established management guidelines are lacking. This report describes a 39-year-old woman with a 5-month history of uncontrolled fever, chills, and myalgia who was diagnosed with myxoma and underwent mass excision. Although blood and urine cultures were negative for growing bacteria, a pathologic examination showed that the excised mass was a left atrial myxoma, with pan-bacterial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the surgical specimen revealing Haemophilus parainfluenzae at 99.87%, resulting in a diagnosis of infected cardiac myxoma. Laboratory tests, such as PCR, may supplement culture results in the diagnosis of infected cardiac myxoma.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• 제7권6호
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• pp.340-346
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• 2002

The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy and mechanism of the PAB (para-amino benzamidine) affinity column chromatography, Viresolve NFP virus filtration, pasteurization (60$\^{C}$ heat treatment for 10 h), and lyophilization steps employed in the manufacture of urokinase from human urine as regards the removal and/or inactivation of the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Samples from the relevant stages of the production process were spiked with HAV and subjected to scale-down processes mimicking the manufacture of urokinase Samples were collected at each step, immediately titrated using a 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID$\_$50/), and the virus reduction factors evaluated. PAB chromatography was found to be an effective step for removing HAV with a log reduction factor of 3.24. HAV infectivity was rarely detected in the urokinase fraction, while most of the HAV infectivity was recovered in the unbound and wash fractions. HAV was completely removed during the Viresolve NFP filtration with a log reduction factor of $\geq$ 4.60. Pasteurization was also found to be an effective step in inactivating HAV where the titers were reduced from an initial titer of 7.18 log$\_$10/ TCID$\_$50/ to undetectable levels within 10 h of treatment. The log reduction factor achieved during pasteurization was $\geq$ 4.76. Lyophilization revealed the lowest efficacy for inactivating HAV with a log reduction factor of 1.48. The cumulative log reduction factor was $\geq$ 14.08. Accordingly, these results indicate that the production process for urokinase exhibited a sufficient HAV reducing capacity to achieve a high margin of virus safety.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제60권8호
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• pp.261-265
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• 2017

Purpose: Studies on cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in immunocompetent children are lacking, and minimal information is available in the medical literature on hepatic manifestations and complications of CMV. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and prognosis of children with CMV hepatitis, and to investigate its prevalence at a single medical center in Korea over a 10-year period. Methods: One hundred thirty-two children diagnosed with CMV infection based on specific markers (anti-CMV IgM, CMV polymerase chain reaction in blood and urine, or CMV culture of urine) were included in the study. Clinical and biochemical characteristics, immunological markers, and outcomes of hepatic CMV infection were determined. Results: The median age of patients (n=132) was 8.5 months (range, 14 days-11.3 years). Peak total bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase levels in serum ranged from 0.11-21.97 mg/dL, and 5-1,517 IU/L, respectively. Alanine aminotransferase remained elevated from 2-48 weeks. Jaundice was the most common clinical feature of hepatic CMV infection during infancy. The hematologic findings revealed anemia, leukocytosis, and monocytosis in CMV-infected patients. All participants recovered without administration of ganciclovir. Conclusion: In children with CMV hepatitis, fever was the most common symptom at presentation, and jaundice was the most common clinical feature of hepatic CMV infection in infants younger than 3 months of age. Hepatic CMV infection in immunocompetent children is often a self-limited illness that does not require antiviral therapy, as most patients in this study had favorable outcomes.