• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.67-71
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• 2012

Purpose: Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) provides an important initial screening examination in adult trauma patients. However, due to its low sensitivity, FAST is not a replacement for computed tomography (CT) in hemodynamically stable trauma patients. The aim of this study was to determine the test characteristics of FAST in adult, hemodynamically stable, blunt abdominal trauma patients by using a critical action as a reference standard. Methods: The medical records for FAST examination at a single hospital from January 2009 to February 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The inclusion criterion was isolated, hemodynamically stable, blunt abdominal trauma. Hemodynamically unstable patients or patients with penetrating injuries were excluded. The reference standard was the presence of a critical action, which was defined as one of the following: 1) operative intervention for a finding discovered on CT, 2) interventional radiology for bleeding, 3) transfusion of 2 or more packed RBCs, or 4) death at the emergency department. Results: There were 230 patients who met the inclusion criterion. There were 20 true positive, 206 true negative, 0 false positive, and 4 false negative results. The sensitivity and the specificity were 83% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Despite its low sensitivity for detecting any abnormal finding discovered on CT, negative FAST could aid to exclude critical action in hemodynamically stable, blunt abdominal trauma patients.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.47-52
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• 1988

The intradermal(ID) test has been widely used in Korea and several reports about the results of the ID test are known. We examined the egg of Clonorchis sinensis(C. s.) by ID test in 443, stool's egg-counting technique in 79 and direct smear(cellophane thick smear technique) in 1304 subjects. The results are as follows.: 1. The positive rate of C. s. was 3.8% out of 1304 persons. 2. The sensitivity of ID test was 82.1% out of 39 persons and, the specificity was 64.6% out of 404 persons. 3. The false positive of ID test 35.4% out of 404 persons and, the false negative was 17.9% out of 39 persons. Intradermal test is a rapid, sensitive and useful supplementary diagnostic tool for the detection of Clonorchiasis infection and must be used as screening test with direct smear of stool but cross reaction with other helminth infections and moderate false reaction are the main disadvantages in its practical application.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2005

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs found in various organisms such as plants and mammals. However, most of the mRNAs regulated by miRNAs are unknown. Furthermore, miRNA targets in genomes cannot be identified by standard sequence comparison since their complementarity to the target sequence is imperfect in general. In this paper, we propose a kernel-based method for the efficient prediction of miRNA targets. To help in distinguishing the false positives from potentially valid targets, we elucidate the features common in experimentally confirmed targets. Results The performance of our prediction method was evaluated by five-fold cross-validation. Our method showed 0.64 and 0.98 in sensitivity and in specificity, respectively. Also, the proposed method reduced the number of false positives by half compared with TargetScan. We investigated the effect of feature sets on the classification of miRNA targets. Finally, we predicted miRNA targets for several miRNAs in the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) database. Condusions The targets predicted by the suggested method will help in validating more miRNA targets and ultimately in revealing the role of small RNAs in the regulation of genomes. Our algorithm for miRNA target site detection will be able to be improved by additional experimental­knowledge. Also, the increase of the number of confirmed targets is expected to reveal general structural features that can be used to improve their detection.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1489-1492
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• 2016

Background: Although there are no biomarkers that are routinely used in endometrial cancer (EC) management, many studies have found that serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is superior to cancer antigen 125 (CA125) in the detection of EC. The correlation of HE4 with two prognostic factors for EC, primary tumor diameter (PTD) and depth of myometrial invasion (DMI) may be useful in identifying EC patients at high risk of lymphatic dissemination. Objective: To evaluate the correlation of serum HE4 with PTD and DMI in patients with EC. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 EC patients who were scheduled for elective surgery at Rajavithi Hospital between 1st September 2013 and 30th May 2014. Preoperative serum levels of HE4 and CA125 were investigated, and then gross measurement of PTD was taken and postoperative pathologic slides were reviewed for DMI including histologic types, grading and staging. Results: Preoperative serum HE4 levels were strongly correlated with PTD (r=0.65, p<0.001) and moderately correlated with DMI (r=0.46, p<0.001). Moreover, serum HE4 levels were significantly elevated in EC patients with PTD >2 cm (p<0.001) and DMI > 50% (p=0.004). The performance of serum HE4 in identifying EC patients at low risk and high risk of lymph node metastasis was significantly better than that of CA125 (AUC 0.88 vs. 0.65, p=0.003). At an optimal cut-off value of 70 pM/L, serum HE4 had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 80.0%. Conclusions: In EC patients, preoperative serum HE4 is significantly correlated with PTD and DMI. Serum HE4 levels could be useful in identifying endometrial cancer patients at high risk of lymphatic spread who would benefit from systemic lymphadenectomy at the cut-off value of 70 pM/L.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6327-6330
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• 2013

Haematuria is a common presentation of bladder cancer and requires a full urologic evaluation. This study aimed to develop a scoring system capable of stratifying patients with haematuria into high or low risk groups for having bladder cancer to help clinicians decide which patients need more urgent assessment. This cross-sectional study included all adult patients referred for haematuria and subsequently undergoing full urological evaluation in the years 2001 to 2011. Risk factors with strong association with bladder cancer in the study population were used to design the scoring system. Accuracy was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 325 patients with haematuria were included, out of which 70 (21.5%) were diagnosed to have bladder cancer. Significant risk factors associated with bladder cancer were male gender, a history of cigarette smoking and the presence of gross haematuria. A scoring system using 4 clinical parameters as variables was created. The scores ranged between 6 to 14, and a score of 10 and above indicated high risk for having bladder cancer. It was found to have good accuracy with an area under the ROC curve of 80.4%, while the sensitivity and specificity were 90.0% and 55.7%, respectively. The scoring system designed in this study has the potential to help clinicians stratify patients who present with haematuria into high or low r isk for having bladder cancer. This will enable high-risk patients to undergo urologic assessment earlier.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.506-512
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• 1991

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were produced and characterized. Spleen cells from mouse immunized with IAA coupled to bovine serum albumin were fused with SP2/0-Ag14 myeloma cells. Three clones secreted specific antibodies to IAA were established to hybridoma cell lines and designated WLI-G1, WLI-G3 and WLI-Ell. The antibodies produced were classified into IgG, types and revealed the high degree of specificity by cross-reaction in the IAA derivatives and its analogues. In the IAA-ELISA with mAb, the measuring range of the assay was 1-500 p mol, and Ka and binding capacity calculated from Scatchard plot were 6.7 X 10$^{-10}$ L/M and 6 x 10$^{-10}$ L/M respectively. The ELISA with mAb can be used to quantitate IAA directly in crude plant eatract. The results showed that the immunoassay was easy and sensitive method to perform and applicate for quantitative analysis of IAA in plant.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.503-515
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• 1989

Critical parameters affecting sensitivity and specificity of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) for detection of antibodies to avian infections bronchitis virus(IBV) were standardized. By adopting the optimized conditions an equation calculating ELISA antibody titers from the observations at single serum dilution was formulated. The purified antigen of IBV Mass-41 strain was dispensed into polystyrene microplate wells at a concentration of 300ng per well($100{\mu}l$) and the plates were coated by completey drying at $37^{\circ}C$. Diluted chicken serum and horseradish peroxidase conjugated goat anti-chicken IgG were added in order in $100{\mu}l$ volumes per well and allowed to react for 30 minutes each at room temperature. Just before use and after each reaction the plates were washed three times with distilled water. Finally o-phenylenediamine solution was added as an enzyme substrate. After incubation for another 15 minutes at room temperature absorbances were read at 492nm. Hyperimmune serum against Mass-41 strain was used as internal reference positive(IRP) serum. After repeated titration of IRP and negative serum, a constant titer of IRP was determined. Serum titrations were carried out for various sample sera together with IRP and negative sera and the observed titers of sample sera were corrected by reflecting the ratio between observed and constant titers of IRP serum. These corrected titers of the sample sera were plotted against sample/positive(S/P) OD ratios. All the OD's measured in the serum titrations were also corrected by substracting negative serum OD. The following equation was formulated from the above data; $Log_{10}$ ELISA titer=$5.568({\log}_{10}S/P)+4.161$ Thus it was possible to calculate ELISA titer by measuring absorbance at 1/400 single serum dilution. Titer measured by cross ELISA tests employing Mass-41 strain and three local IBV isolates were similar. These results suggest that the ELISA tests standardized in this study can be used for evaluating not only vaccinal immunity but also for infection status against fields IBV's.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.936-944
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• 2013

Cronobacter muytjensii is an important foodborne pathogen as a potential risk in infant formula powder (IFP). To develop a new and sensitive method for the detection of Cronobacter spp. in IFP, an immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific for C. muytjensii (formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii ATCC 51329) was developed. Further, an indirect noncompetitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (INC-ELISA) was developed by using the anti-C. muytjensii IgG. As a result, this newly developed INC-ELISA method was found very sensitive for C. muytjensii with detection limit of $6.5{\times}10^3CFU/ml$ in pure culture and 1 cell/25 g of IFP. This INC-ELISA method also displayed excellent specificity for C. muytjensii showing no cross-reactivity with other strains of Cronobacter genus and 11 other foodborne pathogenic strains. These results show that the developed INC-ELISA method was very sensitive, efficient, and rapid for the detection of C. muytjensii. Hence, this method could be applied to the development of diagnostic kits for the rapid and easy detection of C. muytjensii.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.590-596
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• 2010

Meat and meat products are a potential source of food-borne pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Bacillus cereus. A sensitive and specific PCR assay for the detection of these pathogens in meat and meat products was developed in this study, as part of a broader effort to reduce the potential health hazards posed by these pathogens. Initially, PCR conditions were standardized with purified DNA. Under standard conditions, the detection level for PCR was as low as 10 pg of purified bacterial DNA. After overnight growth of bacteria in a broth medium, as few as $10^2$ CFU of bacteria were detected by PCR assay. The primers employed in the PCR assay were found to be highly specific for individual organisms, and evidenced no cross-reactivity with heterologous organisms. Additionally, the multiplex PCR assays also amplified some target genes from the four pathogens, and multiplex amplification was obtained from as little as 10 pg of DNA, thus illustrating the excellent specificity and high sensitivity of the assay. In conclusion, this PCR-based technique provides a sensitive and specific method for the detection of S. aureus, Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, and B. cereus in meat and meat products.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5741-5745
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• 2013

Background: Heat-shock protein70 (HSP70) are intracellular protein chaperones, with emerging evidence of their association with various diseases. We have previously reported significantly elevated plasma-HSP70 (pHSP70) in pancreatic cancer. Current methods of pHSP70 isolation are ELISA-based which lack specificity due to cross-reactivity by similarities in the amino-acid sequence in regions of the protein backbone resulting in overestimated HSP70 value. Materials and Methods: This study was undertaken to develop a methodology to capture all isoforms of pHSP70, while further defining their tyrosine and serine phosphorylation status. Results: The methodology included gel electrophoresis on centrifuged supernatant obtained from plasma incubated with HSP70 antibody-coupled beads. After blocking non-specific binding sites, blots were immunostained with monoclonal-antibody specific for human-HSP70, phosphoserine and phosphotyrosine. Conclusions: Our novel immunocapture approach has distinct advantages over the commercially available methods of pHSP70 quantification by allowing isolation of molecular aggregates of HSP70 with additional ability to precisely distinguish phosphorylation state of HSP70 molecules at serine and tyrosine residues.