• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2001

This study was performed to determine the changes of maternal iron status during pregnancy cross sectionally, and to evaluate the appropriateness of the cut-off points of hemoglobin (Hb). hematocrit (Hct), serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) and sTfR : ferritin ratio for assessing iron deficiency status based on serum ferritin level (< 12${\mu}g$/L). Serum Hb concentrations in the first trimester were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the second and third trimester. Serum levels of iron and ferritin in the third trimester were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those in the first and second trimester. On the other hand, sTfR:ferritin ratios in the third trimester were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the first and second trimester. sTfR concentrations did not change significantly during pregnancy. The appropriate cut-off points of Hb were 11.5g/dL for whole period of pregnancy. 12.0g/dL for 1st trimester. and 11.5g/dL for both 2nd and 3rd trimester. The good cut-off points of Hct were 34% for whole period of pregnancy. 36% for 1st trimester. and 34% for both 2nd and 3rd trimester The suitable cut-off points of TIBC were 400${\mu}g$/dL for whole period of pregnancy. 360${\mu}g$/dL for 1st trimester, and 400${\mu}g$/dL for both 2nd and 3rd trimester. Any cut-off point of sTfR could not be selected because of its low sensitivity and specificity. The proper cut-off point of sTfR : ferritin ratio was 600 or 650 for all the periods determined except the first trimester. In conclusion, there were no reliable cut-off levels of sTfR and those of sTfR : ferritin ratio showed low specificity. The cut-off values of Hb and Hct for assessing iron deficiency were slightly higher than the values used to evaluate anemia. Thus, if appropriate cut-off levels were applied, Hb. Hct, or TIBC might be useful indices for evaluating iron deficiency as well as anemia.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.305-313
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• 2020

Host shifting and host expansion of fungal plant pathogens increases the rate of emergence of new pathogens and the incidence of disease in various crops, which threaten global food security. Magnaporthe species cause serious disease in rice, namely rice blast disease, as well as in many alternative hosts, including wheat, barley, and millet. A severe outbreak of wheat blast due to Magnaporthe oryzae occurred recently in Bangladesh, after the fungus was introduced from South America, causing great loss of yield. This outbreak of wheat blast is of growing concern, because it might spread to adjacent wheat-producing areas. Therefore, it is important to understand the host range and population structure of M. oryzae and related species for determining the evolutionary relationships among Magnaporthe species and for managing blast disease in the field. Here, we collected isolates of M. oryzae and related species from various Poaceae species, including crops and weeds surrounding rice fields, in Korea and determined their phylogenetic relationships and host species specificity. Internal transcribed spacer-mediated phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. oryzae and related species are classified into four groups primarily including isolates from rice, crabgrass, millet and tall fescue. Based on pathogenicity assays, M. oryzae and related species can infect different Poaceae hosts and move among hosts, suggesting the potential for host shifting and host expansion in nature. These results provide important information on the diversification of M. oryzae and related species with a broad range of Poaceae as hosts in crop fields.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.223-228
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• 1984

Seven cases of surgically proven sparganosis were serologically tested by means of microELISA for their specific IgG antibody levels. For that purpose, crude saline extract of spargana from snake, Natrix tigrina lateralis was prepared and used as antigen. The sparganosis sera were also tested with Paragonimus and Cysticercus antigens to observe the cross reactivity. A total of 71 sera from normal control, ectopic and pulmonary paragonimiasis, clonorchiasis, cysticerCOSIS and Taenia saginata cases were also included. Except for one case of old calcified infection, all of 6 human sparganosis showed higher serum levels of specific IgG antibody when the differential point of positive reaction was set at the absorbance value of 0.25 (the sensitivity being 85.7%). In control and other helminthic infections, all except 3 cases of T. saginata infection showed negative reaction to sparganum antigen (the specificity being 90.7%). None of sparganosis cases showed cress reactivity to Paragonimus and Cysticercus antigens. Undiluted cerebrospinal l1uid also showed high levels of antibody when central nervous system was invaded. The serologic diagnosis by means of micro ELISA could be a useful tool in epidemiological study of human sparganosis in susceptible population, as well as in individual diagnosis.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 1997

To develop the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of type D simian retrovirus (SRV) infection, an oligonucleotide primer pair was designed to hybridize to the sequences within env gene of SRV subtype 1 (SRV-1). The 3' proximal env sequences annealing to the primers had been rather conserved among three different subtypes of SRV, SRV-1, SRV-2, and SRV-3 (Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus: MPMV). The PCR using the primer pair targeting an env region successfully detected and amplified all three subtypes of SRV with excellent specificity after single round of reaction. The tests with peripheral blood mononuclear cells infected either with simian immunodeficiency virus or simian T-Iymphotropic virus type 1, major immunosuppressive viral agents together with SRV in simian, verified the specificity of the PCR by excluding any cross reactivity. Semiquantitative titration PCR, amplifying serially diluted plasmid DNA of each subtype, was performed to evaluate sensitivity limits of the reaction. Based on molecular weight of each cloned SRV genome, the PCR should be able to detect one SRV-infected cell per more than $5-7{\times}10^4$ uninfected cells after simple ethidium bromide staining of resulting products. The PCR must be very efficient screening system with its quickness, certainty, and sensitivity for SRV-infected animals used in human AIDS research model. Second round amplification of the reaction products from the first PCR, or Southern hybridization by radiolabeled probes shall render to compete its efficacy to ELISA which has been the most sensitive technique to screen SRV infection but with frequent ambiguity problem.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.947-952
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• 2011

A number of epidemiological studies have identified human papillomavirus (HPV) types 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 27, 57, and 65 in cutaneous common warts. However, identification of the HPV subtype by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is time consuming with its multi-step laboratory process. In this study, we aim to develop a specific one-step multiplex polymerase chain reaction method which capably identifies six different HPV genotypes related to common warts. By HPV DNA sequence analysis, 6 pairs of specific primers were designed from the intergenic regions of genes L1 to E6, and from genes E2 to L2. DNA sequence analysis with the L1 gene sequence of the sample was performed to measure the specificity of multiplex PCR. HPV-1, -2, -3, -4, -27, and -57 were identified without cross amplification in 109 out of 129 samples. The sensitivity and specificity of our set of primers in detecting HPV were 85% and 99.5%, respectively. For the 20 samples where HPV type was not identifiable by our batch of primer sets, multiplex PCR with an additional set of HPV primers was done, where 7 were found positive for HPV-7 or -65. Our results demonstrate that the newly designed multiplex PCR can rapidly detect the specific HPV subtype involved in common warts with high accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.417-428
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• 2011

Species-specific PCR assay was developed for detection of cattle, sheep, goat, horse, dog, pig, chicken, duck, goose, and turkey using mitochondrial 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA as target genes. Also, an internal positive control was used to detect possible false negatives by using 18S rRNA gene. We designed species-specific primers with amplicon length of 190, 219, 350, 467, 241, 119, 171, 229, 111 and 268 bp for cattle, sheep, goat, horse, dog, pig, chicken, duck, goose, and turkey respectively. The specificity of the primers was tested against the other 10 non-target animal species and a cross-reaction was not observed. We developed two multiplex PCR assays for the simultaneous identification of Korea's major livestock species (cattle, pig, chicken and duck) and poultry species (chicken, duck, goose and turkey) from analogous samples, retaining the same specificity. The limit of detection of the multiplex PCR assay (cattle, pig, chicken and duck) ranged between 1 pg and 0.1 pg of template DNA extracts from raw meat. Applying multiplex PCR assays to DNA extracts from experimental pork/beef and pork/chicken tested raw and heat-treated ($120^{\circ}C$ for 30 min) mixtures respectively, detection limit was 0.1% level beef in pork, pork in beef and chicken in pork and 1.0% level pork in chicken. In conclusion, this assay using gel-based capillary electrophoresis would be very useful in highly sensitive and rapid identification of animal species or ingredients in minced meat and other meat products.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2013

Purpose: The cross-protection of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) against vaccine-related serotypes has been controversial. We investigated the serological properties of cross-protective antibodies against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A induced in young children aged 12-23 months after booster immunization of PCV7. Methods: IgG and IgM antibody concentrations and opsonic index (OI) against vaccine serotypes 6B and 19F and vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A were measured by ELISA and opsonophagocytic killing assay (OPA) in 4 selected immunesera. The serological properties and antigenic specificity of protective antibodies were determined by IgM depletion of immunesera, OPA, and competitive OPA against serogroup 6 and 19 pneumococci. Results: Compared to pre-IgM depleted immunesera, OI of IgM-depleted immunesera against 6B and 19F decreased and OI against 6A, 6C, and 19A decreased, too. In competition OPA, free 6B and 19F polysaccharide completely inhibited the immune protection against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A as well as vaccine types 6B and 19F. Conclusions: The booster immunization of PCV7 certainly induced cross-protective antibodies against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A with both IgG and IgM isotypes. Furthermore, IgM antibodies are more highly contributed to opsonophagocytic activity against vaccine-related serotypes as well as most of vaccine types than do IgG antibodies. Further studies are needed for the more immunized sera in the children as well as adults.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.211-214
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• 2013

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a highly hazardous component to human since it is regarded as one of endocrine disruptors. For the analysis and/or removal of BPA, the searching for the specific ligand with a selective affinity to target BPA is required. In order to find the peptide moiety that specifically binds to BPA, the ultrasound-assisted biopanning was carried out with a phage-displayed peptide library expressing constrained heptamer. After six rounds of positive screening against BPA particles followed by the negative screening against the surface of eppendorf tube, the peptide sequence (CysLysSerLeuGluAsnSerTyrCys) with affinity to BPA was screened based on the order of frequency from the screened phage clones. To further verify the specificity of screened peptide sequence, the cross-binding affinity of the phage peptide toward BPA analogues such as Bisphenol S (BPS) and Bisphenol F (BPF) was also assessed, where the selected phage peptide showed a higher affinity to BPA over BPS and BPF.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

We describe a multiplex PCR method that can detect and differentiate simultaneously four different kinds of DNA viruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and parvovirus B19 (B19). Primers for the multiplex PCR reaction were designed to amplify specific regions of the EBV (pol), CMV (pol), HBV (pol) and B19 (ns) viral genomes and used to simultaneously detect individual viruses. In order to achieve optimal sensitivity and specificity for multiplex PCR, the thermo-cycling parameters, primer sequences, and concentration of each reaction components were optimized systematically. The sensitivity of the detection method ranged between 5 and 10 copies of viral genome with a mixture of multiple primer pairs. Furthermore, this highly sensitive test showed no cross-reactivity among the four viruses. Thus, the results obtained in this study provide evidence that the assay system is a good tool for supporting the diagnosis of viral infection and contamination.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.78-82
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• 2014

Objective : To investigate a diagnostic value of ultrasonography in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients and to evaluate a correlation of sonographic measurements with the degree of electrodiagnostic abnormalities and clinical severity. Methods : Two-hundred-forty-six symptomatic hands in 135 patients and 30 asymptomatic hands in 19 healthy individuals as control group were included. In ultrasonographic study, we measured the cross-sectional area (CSA) and flattening ratio (FR) of the median nerve at the pisiform as well as palmar bowing (PB) of the flexor retinaculum. Sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonographic measurements were evaluated and ultrasonographic data from the symptomatic and control hands were compared to the grade of electrodiagnostic and clinical severity. Results : The mean CSA was $13.7{\pm}4.2mm^2$ in symptomatic hands and $7.9{\pm}1.3mm^2$ in asymptomatic hands. The mean FR was $4.2{\pm}1.0$ in symptomatic hands and $3.4{\pm}0.4$ in asymptomatic hands. The mean PB was $3.5{\pm}0.5$ mm in symptomatic hands and $2.6{\pm}0.3$ mm in asymptomatic hands. Statistical analysis showed differences of the mean CSA, FR and PB between groups were significant. A cut-off value of $10mm^2$ for the mean CSA was found to be the upper limit for normal value. Both the mean CSA and PB are correlated with the grade of electrophysiological abnormalities and clinical severity, respectively. Conclusion : Ultrasographic measurement of the CSA and PB is helpful to diagnose CTS as a non-invasive and an alternative modality for the evaluation of CTS. In addition, ultrasonography also provides a reliable correlation with the grade of electrodiagnostic abnormalities and clinical severity.