• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.124-129
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• 2005

Background: CM1 (centrocyte/-blast marker 1) is originally defined as a germinal center B cell marker. It is known that CM1 plays a critical role on B cell development in germinal center. In addition, we have found that CM1 is expressed on lymphoma cell lines, such as Raji, Ramos and IM-9. This means that CM1 might be served as a tumor marker as well. In the present study, we examined the expression of CM1 on the surface of the other tumors and the possibility of the development of tumor screening ELISA kit by using CM1. Methods: First, we have examined the expression of CM1 on stomach cancer and hepatoma, which are predominantly (discovered) occurred in Korean, by flow cytometry analysis. After purifying of CM1 antigen from Raji and Ramos, the optimal ELISA condition was determined. And then we compared the level of CM1 between normal individuals and cancer patients by ELISA. To decrease the non-specific binding of anti-CM1 mAb with serum components except CM1 and to enhance the diagnostic accuracy, albumin depletion spin column was used. Results: CM1 was highly expressed on stomach cancer and hepatoma cell lines. In addition, we have also confirmed the increased CM1 expression on cancer patients. The difference of CM1 expression between normal individuals and cancer patients were more clearly observed, after deletion of serum albumin by using albumin depletion spin column. Conclusion: Based on the results from this study, CM1 might be a useful molecule for the early diagnosis of cancer. In addition, further studies for the increase of ELISA sensitivity and appropriate albumin depletion methods should be needed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.21-37
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• 2009

Map-based cloning to find genes of interest, marker-assisted selection (MAS), and marker-assisted breeding (MAB) all require good genetic maps with high reproducible markers. For map construction as well as chromosome assignment, development of single copy PCR-based markers and map integration process are necessary. In this study, the 132 markers (57 STS from BAC-end sequences, 13 STS from RFLP, and 62 SSR) were newly developed as single copy type PCR-based markers. They were used together with 1830 markers previously developed in our lab to construct an integrated map with the Joinmap 3.0 program. This integrated map contained 169 SSR, 354 RFLP, 23 STS from BAC-end sequences, 6 STS from RFLP, 152 AFLP, 51 WRKY, and 99 rRAMP markers on 12 chromosomes. The integrated map contained four genetic maps of two interspecific (Capsicum annuum 'TF68' and C. chinense 'Habanero') and two intraspecific (C. annuum 'CM334' and C. annuum 'Chilsungcho') populations of peppers. This constructed integrated map consisted of 805 markers (map distance of 1858 cM) in interspecific populations and 745 markers (map distance of 1892 cM) in intraspecific populations. The used pepper STS were first developed from end sequences of BAC clones from Capsicum annuum 'CM334'. This integrated map will provide useful information for construction of future pepper genetic maps and for assignment of linkage groups to pepper chromosomes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.151-169
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• 2015

Objectives: The deleterious effects of air pollution on various health outcomes have been demonstrated. However, few studies have examined the effects of air pollution on liver enzyme levels. Methods: Blood samples were drawn up to three times between 2008 and 2010 from 545 elderly individuals who regularly visited a community welfare center in Seoul, Korea. Data regarding ambient air pollutants (particulate matter ${\leq}2.5{\mu}m$ [$PM_{2.5}$], nitrogen dioxide [$NO_2$], ozone [$O_3$], carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide) from monitoring stations were used to estimate air pollution exposure. The effects of the air pollutants on the concentrations of three liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alanine aminotransferase [ALT], and ${\gamma}$-glutamyltranspeptidase [${\gamma}$-GTP)]) were evaluated using generalized additive and linear mixed models. Results: Interquartile range increases in the concentrations of the pollutants showed significant associations of $PM_{2.5}$ with AST (3.0% increase, p=0.0052), ALT (3.2% increase, p=0.0313), and ${\gamma}$-GTP (5.0% increase, p=0.0051) levels; $NO_2$ with AST (3.5% increase, p=0.0060) and ALT (3.8% increase, p=0.0179) levels; and $O_3$ with ${\gamma}$-GTP (5.3% increase, p=0.0324) levels. Significant modification of these effects by exercise and alcohol consumption was found (p for interaction <0.05). The effects of air pollutants were greater in non-exercisers and heavy drinkers. Conclusions: Short-term exposure to air pollutants such as $PM_{2.5}$, $NO_2$, and $O_3$ is associated with increased liver enzyme levels in the elderly. These adverse effects can be reduced by exercising regularly and abstinence from alcohol.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.242-249
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• 2016

Background: We evaluated early and long-term results after heart transplantation (HTPL). Methods: One hundred five consecutive patients (male:female=80:25) who underwent HTPL between 1994 and 2013 were enrolled. Based on the changes in immunosuppressive regimen, the study patients were divided into two groups. Early and long-term clinical outcomes were evaluated and compared between the patients who underwent HTPL before (group E, n=41) and after July 2009 (group L, n=64). The group L patients were older (p<0.001), had higher incidence of hypertension (p=0.001) and chronic kidney disease (p<0.001), and more frequently needed preoperative mechanical ventilation (p=0.027) and mechanical circulatory support (p=0.014) than the group E patients. Results: Overall operative mortality was 3.8%, and postoperative morbidities included acute kidney injury (n=31), respiratory complications (n=16), reoperation for bleeding (n=15) and wound complications (n=10). There were no significant differences in early results except acute kidney injury between group E and group L patients. Overall survival rates at 1, 5, and 10 years were 83.8%, 67.7%, and 54.9%, respectively, with no significant difference between the two patient groups. Rejection-free rates at 1 and 5 years were 63.0% and 59.7%, respectively; rates were significantly higher in group L than in group E (p<0.001). Conclusion: Despite increased preoperative comorbidities, group L patients showed similar early and long-term outcomes and significantly higher rejection-free rates when compared with group E patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.199-210
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• 1997

A study has been carried out to elucidate the cytogenetic characteristics of Down's syndrome in Korea. This study includes 877 cases which were diagnosed as Down's syndrome by the chromosomal analyses at the Cytogenetic Laboratory, Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Population, Seoul National University for 13 years from January, 1984 to December, 1996. 1. 83.6% of cases were diagnosed under 1 year of age and 10.9% were between 1 and 4 years old. The overall sex ratio was 3 to 2 (male to female). 2. The most frequent indication for cytogenetic analyses was suspicion of Down's syndrome. The next were growth retardation, congenital heart diseases, congenital anomalies. 3. 88.4% of cases had free trisomy 21. In 6.5%, there was translocation, mostly Robertsonian t(14;21) or t(21;21). 3.9% of cases were mosaics mostly with one normal cell line. 4. Karyotyping was also performed in 204 parents of patients. 6 parents (2.9%) were seen to be translocation carriers of Down's syndrome. We find the unique features of Down's syndrome in Korea that the incidences of free trisomy 21 is relatively lower and that translocation is higher than western countries.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.265-276
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• 2019

In our previous study, the LeNet3 model successfully classified images from the transverse surfaces of five Korean softwood species (cedar, cypress, Korean pine, Korean red pine, and larch). However, a practical limitation exists in our system stemming from the nature of the training images obtained from the transverse plane of the wood species. In real-world applications, it is necessary to utilize images from the longitudinal surfaces of lumber. Thus, we improved our model by training it with images from the longitudinal and transverse surfaces of lumber. Because the longitudinal surface has complex but less distinguishable features than the transverse surface, the classification performance of the LeNet3 model decreases when we include images from the longitudinal surfaces of the five Korean softwood species. To remedy this situation, we adopt ensemble methods that can enhance the classification performance. Herein, we investigated the use of ensemble models from the LeNet and MiniVGGNet models to automatically classify the transverse and longitudinal surfaces of the five Korean softwoods. Experimentally, the best classification performance was achieved via an ensemble model comprising the LeNet2, LeNet3, and MiniVGGNet4 models trained using input images of $128{\times}128{\times}3pixels$ via the averaging method. The ensemble model showed an F1 score greater than 0.98. The classification performance for the longitudinal surfaces of Korean pine and Korean red pine was significantly improved by the ensemble model compared to individual convolutional neural network models such as LeNet3.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.35-38
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• 2009

The zebra shark Stegostoma fasciatum which had been reared in the commercial aquaria was found dead and submitted for postmortem examination. A pure bacterial culture was isolated from pale and enlarged liver. The analysis of ureC and 16S rRNA genes confirmed the isolate as Photobacterium (P.) damselae subsp. damselae and this pathogen was sensitive to gentamicin. Although, no mortality in mouse was observed in the experimental infection study, the isolation of this pathogen in aquarium fish is significant because it can act as a reservoir to other aquatic animals and can also be zoonotic potential to human during aquarium management. This paper describes the first isolation of P. damselae subsp. damselae from zebra shark.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.305-314
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper was to design an effective control system of 1-axis exciter for a seat vibration test of agricultural tractors using MATLAB simulation. The developed simulation model was composed with a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic servo valve, a hydraulic cylinder and load system. Also it was verified by comparing the simulation results with experimental results of actual control system in order to optimize the control performance. And in order to improve its control performance, the designed PID controller in this research was tuned using Ziegler-Nichols 2nd law and zero's moving method of PID controller's transfer function. As the result of these research, the developed position control system was able to control the system's position accurately within 5% errors.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.71-75
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• 2008

The diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis has been carried out using coprologic techniques in the Republic of Korea. However, antibody responses to Cryptosporidium have rarely been studied. Serum antibodies from HIV-positive/oocyst-positive Korean patients recognized significantly 31 and 27 kDa antigens, and HIV-negative/oocyst-positive individuals clearly reacted to 15/17 kDa antigens. Compared with oocyst-positive cases, 18.7% and 75.8% of sera from HIV-positive patients reacted to 31 and 27 kDa antigens. Only 11.1% of HIV-negative individuals reacted to 15/17 kDa. Based on these findings, serum antibody responses were different between HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals infected with Cryptosporidium, and it is suggested that HIV-positive patients are more frequently exposed to C. parvum compared to HIV-negative individuals.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.199-204
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• 2007

Metacercariae of Gynaecotyla squatarolae (Digenea: Microphallidae) were discovered from the shore crab, Macrophthalmus dilatatus, purchased at a market in a coastal town of Taean-Eup, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea. Their adult flukes were confirmed by experimental infection of rats. The metacercariae of G. squatarolae were elliptical ($391.1{\times}362.5{\mu}m$), and the excysted metacercariae had progenetic genital organs, including the ovary and testes. To obtain adult flukes, 6 Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 500 metacercariae each, and killed at days 2, 4, and 6 post-infection. The adult flukes were identified as G. squatarolae (Yamaguti, 1934) Yamaguti, 1939, based on morphological characters, including 2 ventral suckers (1 large and 1 small), a large genital atrium equipped with the cirrus and the metraterm, separated male and female genital pores, a transversely long cirrus pouch, and extensive vitelline follicles. In the present study, it has been first proven that the shore crab M. dilatatus is a second intermediate host for G. squatarolae in the Republic of Korea.