• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 2017

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder which affects millions of population worldwide. Global estimates published in 2010 reported the world diabetic prevalence as 6.4%, affecting 285 million adults. Foot ulceration and wound infection are major forms of disabilities arising from diabetic diseases. This study was aimed to develop a natural antimicrobial finishing on medical grade textile that meets American Association of Textiles Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) standard. The textile samples were finished with the ethanolic extract of Penicillium amestolkiae elv609, an endophytic fungus isolated from Orthosiphon stamineus Benth (common name: cat's whiskers). Endophyte is defined as microorganism that reside in the living plant tissue, without causing apparent disease symptom to the host. The antimicrobial efficacy of the ethanolic extract of P. minioluteum was tested on clinical pathogens isolated from diabetic wound. The extract exhibited significant inhibitory activity against 4 bacteria and 1 yeast with the minimal inhibitory concentration ranged from 6.25 to 12.5 mg/mL. The results indicate different susceptibility levels of the test microorganism to the ethanolic extract. However, the killing activity of the extract was concentration-dependent. The finished medical textile showed excellent antimicrobial efficacy on AATCC test assays. All the microbial cultures treated with the textile sample displayed a growth reduction of 99.9% on Hoheinstein Challenge Test. The wash durability of the finished textile was found good even after 50 washes with commercial detergent. Besides, the gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis showed that 6-octadecenoic acid and diethyl phthalate were the main bioactive constituents of the extract. In conclusion, the developed medical textile showed good antimicrobial efficacy on laboratory tests. This work can be extended to in vivo trials for developing healthcare textile products for antimicrobial applications.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.823-829
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• 2016

Yacon (YC), ginger (GG) and blueberry (BB) were added to the diet of juvenile rockfish Sebastes schlegeli to investigate the effects of these substances on growth, feed utilization and resistance to Streptococcus iniae compared to feed additive ethoxyquin. A total of 480 fish were distributed in 12 tanks and four experimental diets [control (Con), with 0.01% ethoxyquin, and 1% YC, GG and BB diets] were provided in triplicate. After an 8-week feeding trial, 20 fish from each tank were infected with Streptococcus iniae. Fish fed the BB diet had higher weight gain than fish fed the GG and Con diets. Feed efficiency of fish fed the GG and YC diets was higher than that of fish fed the BB and Con diets. The protein efficiency ratio of fish fed the GG diet was higher than that of fish fed any other diet. The cumulative mortality 54 h after infection of fish fed the Con diet was higher than that of fish fed any other diet. These results indicate that YC, GG, and BB are effective dietary additive, not only improving growth performance and feed utilization but also lowering the mortality of juvenile rockfish exposed to S. iniae.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.5.1-5.8
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• 2018

Stimulator of interferon gene (STING) is induced by various inflammatory agents, such as lipopolysaccharide and microbial pathogens, including virus and bacteria. In this study, we obtained a full-length cDNA of a STING homolog from olive flounder using rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR technique. The full-length cDNA of Paralichthys olivaceus STING (PoSTING) was 1442 bp in length and contained a 1209-bp open reading frame that translated into 402 amino acids. The theoretical molecular mass of the predicted protein sequence was 45.09 kDa. In the PoSTING protein, three transmembrane domains and the STING superfamily domain were identified as characteristic features. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that PoSTING expressed in all the tissues analyzed, but showed the highest level in the spleen. Temporal expression analysis examined the significantly upregulated expression of PoSTING mRNA after viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) stimulation. In contrast, no significant changes in the PoSTING expression were detected in Edwardsiella tarda-challenged group compared to the un-injected control. The expression of P. olivaceus type I interferon (PoIFN-I) was also highly upregulated upon VHSV challenge. These results suggest that STING might be involved in the essential immune defense against viral infection together with the activation of IFN-I in olive flounder.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.423-428
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• 1997

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic gram-negative human pathogen, which affects people with underlying liver diseases or a suppressed immune system, often leading to primary septicemia with a mortality rate of higher than 60%. In an effort to develop an oral vaccine against V. vulnificus infection, we prepared a whole cell killed vaccine of V. vulnificus on a large scale and compared the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the vaccine administered in three formulation forms in rabbits. Since V. vulnificus O-antigen serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 account for more than 95% of clinical isolates, we prepared cell lysates from these six serotype strains and mixed in equal amounts for a vaccine. The vaccine was administered to rabbits intramuscularly (i.m.), orally as granules or as enteric-coated granules. In rabbits, all three formulation forms elicited a high level of serum IgG antibody reactive not only to the six strains but also to other O-antigen serotypes 6, 8 and 9, indicating cross-reactivities among the strains. Immunotherapeutic efficacy of the antisera was also evaluated by a passive immunization assay, which revealed that the orally immunized antisera as well as the i.m. immunized antisera was protective against a subsequent lethal challenge of V. vulnificus. These data demonstrate that oral immunization with a V. vulnificus whole cell lysate vaccine induced a systemic immune response and suggest the feasibility of development of this vaccine preparation as an oral vaccine.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.26
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• pp.11.1-11.6
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• 2011

Objects: The prevalence of asthma has increased in recent decades globally. The objective of the present study is to elucidate whether hospitalization for bronchiolitis in infancy and low socioeconomic status interact for bronchial hyperreactivity during teenage years. Method: We studied 522 children age 13-14 years attending schools in rural and urban areas to investigate the risk factors for bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR), defined as a provocation concentration of methacholine that causes a decrease of 20% ($PC_{20}$) in forced expiratory volume within 1 second. Clinical examination, skin prick test, spirometry, and methacholine challenge were performed on all study subjects, who provided written consent. We used multivariate logistic regression to investigate the risk factors for BHR, and analyze the interaction between hospitalization for bronchiolitis in infancy and low socioeconomic status. Results: Forty-six (10.3%) positive BHR cases were identified. In the multivariate logistic analysis, as independent predictors of BHR, adjusted odds ratio of bronchiolitis diagnosed before 2 years of age in low income families was 13.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 135.0), compared to reference group, controlling for age, gender, parental allergy history, skin prick test, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure. Interaction was observed between bronchiolitis before 2 years old and low socioeconomic status on children's bronchial hyperreactivity (p-interaction=0.025). Conclusions: This study showed that bronchiolitis diagnosed before 2 years of age and low socioeconomic status interacted on children's bronchial hyperreactivity. Prevention of acute respiratory infection in early childhood in low socioeconomic status is important to prevent BHR as a precursor of asthma.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.233-240
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• 2001

Although some reports have been published on the protective effect of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii surface membrane proteins, few address the inhibitory activity of antibodies to dense granular proteins (GRA proteins) . Therefore, we performed a series of experiments to evaluate the inhibitory effects of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to GRA proteins (GRA2, 28 kDa; GRA6, 32 kDa) and surface membrane protein (SAGI, 30 kDa) on the invasion of T. gondii tachyzoites. Passive immunization of mice with one of three mAbs following challenge with a lethal dose of tachyzoites significantly increased survival compared with results for mice treated with control ascites. The survival times of mice challenged with tachyzoties pretreated with anti-GRA6 or anti-SAG 1 mAb were significantly increased. Mice that received tachyzoties pretreated with both mAb and complement had longer survival times than those that received tachyzoites pretreated with mAb alone. Invasion of tachyzoites into fibroblasts and macrophages was significantly inhibited in the anti-GRA2, anti-GRA6 or anti-SAG 1 mAb pretreated group. Pretreatment with mAb and complement inhibited invasion of tachyzoites in both fibroblasts and macrophages. These results suggest that specific antibodies to dense-granule molecules may be useful for controlling infection with T. gondii.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.610-620
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• 2021

There has been increasing interest in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) that is caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) and has posed a significant challenge to Otolaryngologists. A rapid, sensitive, and reliable method is required for the detection of HR-HPV in clinical specimens to prevent and treat HPV-induced diseases. In this study, a multiple cross-linking spiral amplification (MCLSA) assay was developed for the visual detection of HPV-16. In the MCLSA assay, samples were incubated under optimized conditions at 62℃ for 45 min, and after mixing with the SYBR Green I (SGI) dye, the positive amplicons showed bright green fluorescence while the negative amplicons exhibited no obvious change. The specificity test revealed that the developed MCLSA technique had high specificity and could effectively distinguish all five HPV-16 strains from other pathogenic microorganisms. In terms of analytical sensitivity, the limit of detection (LoD) of MCLSA assay was approximately 5.4 × 101 copies/tube, which was 10-fold more sensitive than loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and RT-PCR. The detection results of laryngeal cancer specimens collected from 46 patients with suspected HPV infection in the Liaoning region demonstrated that the positive detection rates of MCLSA and hybridized capture 2 kit were 32.61% (15/46). The true positive rate of the MCLSA assay was higher than that of RT-PCR (100% vs. 93.33%) and LAMP (100% vs. 86.67%). Therefore, the MCLSA assay developed in the present study could be a potentially useful tool for the point-of-care (PoC) diagnosis of HR-HPV, especially in resource-limited countries.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.42-44
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• 2019

Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare and underdiagnosed neuropsychiatric illness. We present the case of a 17-year-old girl who was admitted to a tertiary-care psychiatric center with acute onset psychosis and fever. Her psychotic symptoms were characterized by persecutory and referential delusions, as well as tactile and visual hallucinations. Her acute behavioral disturbance warranted admission and treatment in a psychiatric setting (risperidone tablets, 3 mg/day). She had experienced an episode of fever with a unilateral visual acuity defect approximately 3 years before admission, which was resolved with treatment. Focused clinical examination revealed an enlarged thyroid, and baseline blood investigations, including thyroid function test results were normal. Abnormal laboratory investigations revealed elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) levels (anti-TPO of 480 IU/mL; anti-TG of 287 IU/mL). Results of other investigations for infection, including cerebrospinal fluid examination, electroencephalography, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were normal. She was diagnosed with HE and was treated with intravenous corticosteroids (methylprednisolone up to 1 g/day; tapered and discontinued after a month). The patient achieved complete remission of psychotic symptoms and normalization of the anti-thyroid antibody titers. Currently, at the seventh month of follow-up, the patient is doing well. This case highlights the fact that in the absence of well-defined clinical diagnostic criteria, a high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis of HE. Psychiatrists need to explore for organic etiologies when dealing with acute psychiatric symptoms in a younger age group.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.218-225
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• 2019

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae, more than 90 serotypes of which exist, is recognized as an etiologic agent of pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Immunization with a pneumococcal pep27 mutant (${{\Delta}}pep27$) has been shown to confer comprehensive, long-term protection against even nontypeable strains. However, ${{\Delta}}pep27$ is effective as a vaccine only after at least three rounds of immunization. Therefore, treatments capable of enhancing the efficiency of ${{\Delta}}pep27$ immunization should be identified without delay. Panax ginseng Mayer has already been shown to have pharmacological and antioxidant effects. Here, the ability of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) to enhance the efficacy of ${{\Delta}}pep27$ immunization was investigated. Methods: Mice were treated with KRG and immunized with ${{\Delta}}pep27$ before infection with the pathogenic S. pneumoniae strain D39. Total reactive oxygen species production was measured using lung homogenates, and inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase and antiapoptotic protein expression was determined by immunoblotting. The phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages was also tested after KRG treatment. Results: Compared with the other treatments, KRG significantly increased survival rate after lethal challenge and resulted in faster bacterial clearance via increased phagocytosis. Moreover, KRG enhanced ${{\Delta}}pep27$ vaccine efficacy by inhibiting reactive oxygen species production, reducing extracellular signal-regulated kinase apoptosis signaling and inflammation. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest that KRG reduces the time required for immunization with the ${{\Delta}}pep27$ vaccine by enhancing its efficacy.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.99-104
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated safety and efficacy of a low temperature immunization protocol with NNV in red spotted grouper, Epinephelus akaara and long tooth grouper, Epinephelus bruneus and seven band grouper, Hyporthodus septemfasciatus. Further, growth rate between immunized and naïve fish was evaluated during the experiment to check side effect of immunization. Three grouper species were immunized by immersion method with live NNV at 10^5.0 TCID₅₀/mL at 16.5℃ for 30 min and reared for 120 days at natural sea water temperature. To evaluate growth rate, total length and wet weight was measured 7 times after immunization. Immunized three grouper species were challenged by intramuscular inoculation with NNV at 10^4.2 TCID₅₀/100 µL/fish. Immunization at low temperature with live NNV did not show any clinical symptoms of infection, mortality and inhibition of growth. After challenge, cumulative mortality of naïve seven band grouper, red spotted grouper, long tooth grouper were 45, 10, 20 %, respectively. However no mortality was observed at immunized groupers. Thus, it was demonstrated that immunization at low temperature with live NNV are able to protect three different species of groupers without inhibition of growth.