• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.183-189
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• 2015

Purpose: Catheter urine (CATH-U) and suprapubic aspiration (SPA) are reliable urine collection methods for confirming urinary tract infections (UTI) in infants. However, noninvasive and easily accessible collecting bag urine (CBU) is widely used, despite its high contamination rate. This study investigated the validity of CBU cultures for diagnosing UTIs, using CATH-U culture results as the gold standard. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 210 infants, 2- to 24-month-old, who presented to a tertiary care hospital's pediatrics department between September 2008 and August 2013. We reviewed the results of CBU and CATH-U cultures from the same infants. Results: CBU results, relative to CATH-U culture results (${\geq}10^4$ colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) were widely variable, ranging from no growth to ${\geq}10^5CFU/mL$. A CBU cutoff value of ${\geq}10^5CFU/mL$ resulted in false-positive and false-negative rates of 18% and 24%, respectively. The probability of a UTI increased when the CBU bacterial count was ${\geq}10^5/mL$ for all infants, both uncircumcised male infants and female infants (likelihood ratios [LRs], 4.16, 4.11, and 4.11, respectively). UTIs could not be excluded for female infants with a CBU bacterial density of $10^4-10^5$ (LR, 1.40). The LRs for predicting UTIs based on a positive dipstick test and a positive urinalysis were 4.19 and 3.11, respectively. Conclusion: The validity of obtaining urine sample from a sterile bag remains questionable. Inconclusive culture results from CBU should be confirmed with a more reliable method.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.726-732
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• 2020

Indonesian kefir grains are potential sources of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that may act as probiotics with specific functional properties. In this study we explored the potential of the probiotic and cholesterol-lowering effect of LAB isolated from Indonesian kefir grains obtained from Bogor, Bandung, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta. The results revealed that 10 isolates showed considerable survivability at low pH and bile salt with total cell reduction of ~3 log colony-forming units per milliliter after exposure to pH 2.5 and 0.5% (w/v) bile salt for 1 and 3 h, respectively. All strains exhibited strong antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria and were sensitive to a wide spectrum of antibiotics but exhibited weak bile salt hydrolase activity. Identification based on 16S RNA suggested that nine isolates were Lactobacillus kefiri and one was Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The ability of the isolates to reduce cholesterol from the media varied, ranging from 22.08% to 68.75% with the highest reduction shown by L. kefiri JK17. The ability to remove cholesterol from the media decreased greatly in resting and dead cells, ranging from 14.58% to 22.08% in resting cells and from 7.89% to 18.17% in dead cells. It can be concluded that Indonesian kefir grains contain LAB potentially acting as probiotics capable of reducing cholesterol. The cholesterol-lowering effect especially occurs when the cells are metabolically active.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.173-177
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• 2004

This study was conducted to investigate the pathogenicity and acute single toxicity of Lactobacillus spp. PSC101 (PSC101) isolated from pigs and L. acidophilus (LA) at 2.5$\times$$10^9$CFU or 2.5$\times$$10^{12}$colony forming units (CFU) in mice for 14 days. After oral administration of the bacteria into mice, we could not find their any specific pathogenicity from the standpoints of clinical signs, and changes in body weight and body temperature, as compared with the control group during 14 days. We further investigated the toxicity of concentrated culture broth ($\times$10) after fermentation of them for safe industrial process. As the results, we could not find any clinical signs, changes in body weight and body temperature, as compared with the control group (MRS broth) for 14 days. The results obtained in this study suggest that the potentially probiotic, PSC101, is non-toxic in mice and is therefore likely to be safe for pig use.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 2020

Purpose: Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) are frequently used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in children, but recent evidence suggests a potential association between PPI treatment and some types of infections. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for the prevention of gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections in children with GERD treated with PPI (omeprazol). Methods: Children younger than 5 years with GERD were assigned by a computer-generated list to receive LGG (10⁹ colony-forming units) or placebo, twice daily, concomitantly with PPI treatment for 4-6 weeks; they were followed up for 12 weeks after therapy. The primary outcome measures were the percentage of children with a minimum of one episode of respiratory tract infection and the percentage of children with a minimum of one episode of gastrointestinal infection during the study. Results: Of 61 randomized children, 59 patients (LGG n=30; placebo n=29, mean age 11.3 months) were analyzed. There was no significant difference found between the LGG and placebo groups, either for the proportion of children with at least one respiratory tract infection (22/30 vs. 25/29, respectively; relative risk [RR] 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.66-1.10) or for the proportion of children with at least one gastrointestinal infection (9/30 vs. 9/29, respectively; RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.45-2.09). Conclusion: LGG was not effective in the prevention of infectious complications in children with GERD receiving PPI. Caution is needed in interpreting these results, as the study was terminated early due to slow subject recruitment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2015

Recently, the production of taste and odor (T&O) compounds is a common problem in water industry. Geosmin is one of the T&O components in drinking water. However, geosmin is hardly eliminated through the conventional water treatment systems. Among various advanced processes capable of removing geosmin, adsorption process using granular activated carbon (GAC) is the most commonly used process. As time passes, however GAC process changes into biological activated carbon (BAC) process. There is little information on the BAC process in the literature. In this study, we isolated and identified microorganisms existing within various BAC processes. The microbial concentrations of BAC processes examined were $3.5{\times}10^5$ colony forming units (CFU/g), $2.2{\times}10^6CFU/g$ and $7.0{\times}10^5CFU/g$ in the Seongnam plant, Goyang plant and Goryeong pilot plant, respectively. The dominant bacterial species were found to be Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Novosphingobium rosa and Afipia broomeae in each plants. Removal efficiencies of $3{\mu}g/L$ geosmin by the dominant species were 36.1%, 36.5% and 34.3% in mineral salts medium(MSM) where geosmin was a sole carbon source.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 2013

This study screened for radio-resistant strains lactic acid bacteria (LAB) by evaluating their capability to survive exposure to ionizing radiation. Ten strains of LAB - Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus delbruekii, Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, and Pediocuccos pentosaceus - were selected and subcultuted twice. The LAB was then further cultured for 3 d at $37^{\circ}C$ to reach 7-10 Log colony-forming units (CFU)/mL prior to irradiation and immediately exposed to gamma rays or electron beams with absorbed doses of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 kGy. Gamma irradiation gradually decreased the number of the tested viable LAB, and the effect was irradiation dose dependent. A similar effect was found in electron beam-irradiated LAB. Radiation sensitivity of LAB was calculated as $D_{10}$ values, which ranged from 0.26 kGy to 0.9 kGy and 0.5 kGy to 1.44 kGy with exposure to gamma and electron beam irradiation, respectively, in all tested LAB. L. acidophilus was the most resistant to gamma and electron beam irradiation, with $D_{10}$ values of 0.9 kGy and 1.44 kGy, respectively. These results suggest that L. acidophilus might be suitable for the preparation of probiotics as direct-fed microbes for astronauts in extreme space environments.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.25-28
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to applicate and evaluate a SYBR Green real-time PCR for the specific detection of Salmonella spp. Specificity of the PCR method was confirmed with 48 Salmonella spp. and 5 non-Salmonella strains using invA gene primer. The average threshold cycle ($C_T$) of Salmonella spp. was $11.83{\pm}0.78$ while non-Salmonella spp. was $30.86{\pm}1.19$. Correlation coefficients of standard curves constructed using $C_T$ versus copy number of Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 13076 showed good linearity ($R^2=0.993$; slope = 3.563). Minimum level of detection with the method was > $10^2$ colony forming units (CFU)/mL. These results suggested that the SYBR Green real-time PCR might be applicable for the specific detection of Salmonella spp. isolates.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.300-304
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• 2001

Epstein-Barr Virus(EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid B cell lines, BLCL which expresse antigens, are potential antigen-presenting cells(APCs) for the induction of CTL in vitro. However transfection of BLCLs with subsequent selection by antibiotics is notoriously difficult because plating efficiencies of BLCLsare reported to be 1% or less. To generated stable transfectants of BLCLs we produced high titers of retroviruess encoding pp 65 antigen of human cytomegalovirus of foreign antigens and trans-duced them of BLCLs. The pp 65 gene was cloned into the retroviral vector pLXSN. The recombinant retroviral vector was transfected to ecotropic packaging cell line, CP&E86, and this polyclonal recom-binant retrovirus was transduced to PA317 that is amphotropic pakaging cell line. The titers of colned PA317 amphotropic retroviruses ranged from 5 to $\times$10$^{6}$ colony forming units (CFU)per ml (CFU/ml) We performed three rounds of consecutive transductions to BLCLs in order to improve the clon-ing effieiencies. The expression of recombinant HCMV-pp65 antigen was more than 20% after the final transduction. THe third-transduced BLCLs were easily selected in optimal concentration of G418. BLCLs expressing foreign antigens could be used as target cells for CTL assay and/or as APCs for induction of in vitro CTL responses specific for viral and tumor antigens.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.435-443
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• 1987

A total of 30 strains of Candida albicans were examined for susceptibility to amphotericin B and ketoconazole using Sabouraud's dextrose broth, Kimmig broth and Supplemented yeast nitrogen base broth media. Furthermore, the growth curve and colony forming units were checked for use of stationary-phase cells and 2-hour incubation cells in the absence of atifungal agents. The viable counts were determined periodically during incubation by standard plate count techniques. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of amphotericin B for use of stationary phase cells were as follows: SDB, $0.09{\sim}0.97mcg/ml$(0.39mcg/ml); Kimmig broth, $0.19{\sim}0.39mcg/ml$(0.42 mcg/ml) and SYNB, $0.19{\sim}0.39mcg/ml$mcg/ml(0.23mcg/ml). In ketoconazole, MICs were value SDB, $3.12{\sim}25.0mcg/ml$(12.5mcg/ml); Kimmig broth, $12.5{\sim}25.0mcg/ml$ (22.5mcg/ml) and SYNB, $3.12{\sim}12.5mcg/ml$(6.71mcg/ml). The MICs of amphotericin B(0.2mcg/ml cone.) for use of 2-hour incubation cells in absence of AMB were, SDB, $0.04{\sim}0.39mcg/ml$(0.11mcg/ml); Kimmig broth, $0.09{\sim}0.39mcg/ml$(0.18mcg/ml) and SYNB, $0.09{\sim}0.19mcg/ml$(0.14mcg/ml) and in KTZ, the value of MICs were SDB, $3.12{\sim}25.0mcg/ml$(12.22mcg/ml); Kimmig broth, $0.78{\sim}25.0mcg/ml$(11.01mcg/ml) and SYNB, $1.56{\sim}12.5mcg/ml$(3.90mcg/ml). The two-log reductions in CFU per milliliter observed when 2 hour preincubation cells were treated with 0.2mcg/concentrations of AMB and 25.0mcg/ml of KTZ. However, AMB treated cells were restored to growth activity, it suggested that the AMB has no active antifungal activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 1992

The intestinal microflora of humans is an extraordinarily complex mixture of microorganisms, the majority of which are anaerobic microorganisms. The distribution of amylolytic microorganisms in the human large intestinal tract was investigated in various individuals of differing ages using anaerobic culture techniques. A large percentage of the amylolytic microorganisms present belonged to the Genus Bifidobacteria. The number of Bifidobacteria increased significantly at two years of age. Adults and children above 2 years old carried about $0.8{\times}10^9-2.0{\times}10^{10}$ colony forming units (CFU/gram) of amylolytic Bifidobacteria. Among these amylolytic Bifidobacteria, Int-57 was chosen for further studies. Between 65% and 85% of the amylase produced was secreted and the remaining amylase was bound to the cell wall facing the outside. Amylase production could be induced by starch in a stable form. When cells were grown on maltose or glucose, amylase production was much lower than on starch and amylase activity disappeared after 24 hours growth on these media. Partially purified enzymes showed optimum activity at a temperature of $50^{\circ}C$ and at an optimum pH of 5.5, respectively. Heat treatment at $70^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes almost completely inactivated amylase. The hydrolysis products of starch were mainly maltose and maltotriose. Soluble starch, amylose, amylopectin, and $\gamma$-cyclodextrin($\gamma$-CD) were easily hydrolyzed. The rate of hydrolysis of $\alpha$-CD and $\beta$-CD was slower than that of $\gamma$-CD. Carboxymethyl cellulose, $\beta$-1, 3-glucan and inulin were not hydrolyzed.