• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.704-716
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a characterized component in red ginseng widely used in Korea and China. GRh2 exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. However, its effects on Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection have not been clarified yet. Methods: The effect of GRh2 against T. gondii was assessed under in vitro and in vivo experiments. The BV2 cells were infected with tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain, and the effects of GRh2 were evaluated by MTT assay, morphological observations, immunofluorescence staining, a trypan blue exclusion assay, reverse transcription PCR, and Western blot analyses. The in vivo experiment was conducted with BALB/c mice inoculated with lethal amounts of tachyzoites with or without GRh2 treatment. Results and conclusion: The GRh2 treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of T. gondii under in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, GRh2 blocked the activation of microglia and specifically decreased the release of inflammatory mediators in response to T. gondii infection through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. In mice, GRh2 conferred modest protection from a lethal dose of T. gondii. After the treatment, the proliferation of tachyzoites in the peritoneal cavity of infected mice markedly decreased. Moreover, GRh2 also significantly decreased the T. gondii burden in mouse brain tissues. These findings indicate that GRh2 exhibits an antieT. gondii effect and inhibits the microglial activation through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, providing the basic pharmacological basis for the development of new drugs to treat toxoplasmic encephalitis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.67-86
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• 1991

In order to determine the seasonal prevalence and population dynamics of Culex tritaeniorhynchus in relation to the epidemics of Japanese encephalitis, and ecology of these vector mosquito in Kyungpook Province, Korea, studies were con- ducted during the Period of 7 years from 1984 to 1990. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus first collected in June between 4th and 28th, and trapped in large numbers during the period from mid-August to early September, showed a simple sharply pointed one-peaked curve. There was a gradual decrease from mid-September, with a very small number of them collected until early October in every year. The average number of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus rapidly decreased after 1985, and the number became particularly low in 1989. The highest population density, which was observed in August during the initial three years, was found to be delayed in the following years, accompanied by a decrease in the number of mosquitoes. In the trend of nocturnal activity of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, with oncoming darkness they become very active, gradually decreasing in activity toward mid night, but slightly increasing toward dawn. The immature stages of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were first found in rice fields contributing to peak adult densities in mid-July. The highest average densities of Cx. trisaeniorhynchus was 14,900 per m2 on mid-August 19th. The larval Cx. tritaeniorhynchus showed high resistance levels and resistance ratios against 5 organophosphorus compounds. In the adult horisontal life table characteristics of Kyungsan colonies of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus under insectary condi- tions, life expectancy was 28.3 days for males and 59.8 days for females. The net reproductive rate was 7.8 and generation time was 25.6 days.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.132-140
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• 2018

Purpose: The number of dengue fever cases is rising due to increasing overseas travel. Vaccination makes severe dengue fever in seronegative individuals after vaccination when they exposure to wild-type dengue virus. We investigated the seroepidemiology of the dengue virus for monitoring of Korean dengue virus immunity and establishing the prevention of dengue infection. Methods: The study was based on 446 residual sera collected from 98 infants (2 months to 1 year old), 152 adolescents (13 to 19 years old), 90 adults (20 to 50 years old), and 106 elderly participants (more than 65 years old) for other studies. Antibody levels for dengue virus immunoglobulin G (IgG) in each age group were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For each dengue virus IgG positive or equivocal result, an IgG ELISA was performed for Japanese encephalitis virus. Results: Of the 446 serum samples, only 1 (0.2%) adolescent had a positive result from the dengue IgG antibody test. In the dengue virus IgG antibody test, 14 (3.1%) samples showed equivocal results (10 adolescents and 4 elderly). In the 1 positive case of dengue virus IgG, the Japanese encephalitis IgG test was also positive. In the 14 equivocal cases of dengue virus IgG, there were 6 positive, 3 equivocal, and 5 negative of Japanese encephalitis IgG. Conclusions: The seroprevalence rate of dengue virus was very low in Koreans. This study provides important data for establishing the policy for preventive measures of dengue fever. It will be necessary to continuously monitor for dengue virus immunity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 1970

Studies were conducted on the survey of HI antibody abortion and stillbirth from J.E. virus in swine for 1968-1969 in Korea HI antibody against J.E. virus showed postive in June or July and reached 80~100 percent of postive in August or September and J.E. virus strains were isolated from the brain material of the aborted piglets.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.54-54
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• 2023

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.81-83
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• 2023

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.302-309
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• 2013

This paper proposes a mathematical model of Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), which is a disease causing significant economic damage to the goat farming industry, and reports the application of this model to the development of an information management system of animal quarantine to overcome this disease. The mathematical model of CAE was derived from the AIDs model in human case because epidemical characteristics of these diseases including infection pass are similar. This model can be expressed by simultaneous differential equations. Simulations using a new model were performed according Euler's and Runge-Kutta method using numerical analysis software. In each method, strong convergence was observed and the results were similar. The design of an information management system of animal quarantine was proposed as an application of the new model. System design was constructed on the assumption that in subtropical islands, the expected development of information infrastructure and utilization will become valuable in the future.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.44 no.4 s.140
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• pp.321-330
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• 2006

The pathogenic mechanism of granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) and amebic keratitis (AK) by Acanthamoeba has yet to be clarified. Pretense has been recognized to play an important role in the pathogenesis of GAE and AK. In the present study, we have compared specific activity and cytopathic effects (CPE) of purified 33 kDa serine proteinases from Acanthamoeba strains with different degree of virulence (A. healyi OC-3A, A. lugdunensis KA/E2, and A. castelianii Neff). Trophozoites of the 3 strains revealed different degrees of CPE on human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells. The effect was remarkably reduced by adding phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (PMSF), a serine proteinase inhibitor. This result indicated that PMSF-susceptible proteinase is the main component causing cytopathy to HCE cells by Acanthamoeba. The purified 33 kDa serine proteinase showed strong activity toward HCE cells and extracellular matrix proteins. The purified proteinase from OC-3A, the most virulent strain, demonstrated the highest enzyme activity compared to KA/E2, an ocular isolate, and Neff, a soil isolate. Polyclonal antibodies against the purified 33 kDa serine proteinase inhibit almost completely the proteolytic activity of culture supernatant of Acanthamoeba. In line with these results, the 33 kDa serine proteinase is suggested to play an important role in pathogenesis and to be the main component of virulence factor of Acanthamoeba.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.281-288
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• 2004

As all other intensively farmed domestic species, most mortality in ostriches is closely to rearing conditions. While ostriches is also highly sensitive to stress, species-specific infectious disease play only a minor role. But investigation of ostrich's disease is not peformed almost in Korea. The study was performed to investigate the titers of antibody for Newcastle disease(ND), Infectious bronchitis(IB), Egg drop syndrome '76(EDS), Avian influenza(AI), salmonellosis, Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection(MG), Mycoplasma synoviae infection(MS), Infectious bursal disease(IBD), Brucellosis, Toxoplasmosis, Japanese encephalitis(JE), Porcine parvovirus infection, Encephalomyocarditis and Porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome (PRRS). The results obtained in the 62 ostrich sera slaughtered in Gyeongbuk province were summarized as follows: The average of antibody positive rates to ND, IB, EDS, AI(H9Nl), JE, Porcine parvovirus infection and Encephalomyocarditis by HI test were $75.8\%,\;100\%,\;0\%,\;0\%,\;51.6\%,\;50\%\;and\;56.5\%$ respectively. The antibody positive rates to salmonellosis, MG, MS by plate agglutination test were $12.9\%,\;25.8\%,\;and\;0\%$ respectively. Antibodies to disease agent such as IBD and AI by agar gel precipitation(AGP) test, Brucellosis by tube agglutination, toxoplasmosis by latex agglutination test and PRRS by IFA were all negative.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.83-86
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• 2003

Major advances in positive-sense RNA virus research have been facilitated by the development of reverse genetics systems. These systems consist of an infectious cDNA clone that encompasses the genome of the virus in question. This clone is then used as a template for the subsequent synthesis of infectious RNA for the generation of synthetic viruses. However, the construction of infectious cDNA for the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has been repeatedly thwarted by the instability of its cDNA. As JEV is an important human pathogen that causes permanent neuropsychiatric sequelae and even fatal disease, a reliable reverse genetics system for this virus is highly desirable. The availability of this tool would greatly and the development of effective vaccines as well as facilitate studies into the basic biology of the virus, including the molecular mechanisms of viral replication, neurovirulence, and pathogenesis. We have successfully constructed a genetically stable infectious JEV cDNA containing full-length viral RNA genome. Synthetic RNA transcripts generated in vitro from the cDNA were highly infectious upon transfection into susceptible cells, and the cDNA remained stable after it had been propagated in E. coli for 180 generations. Using this infectious JEV cDNA, we have successfully expressed a variety of reporter genes from the full-length genomic and various subgenomic RNAs in vitro transcribed from functional JEV cDNAS. In summary, we have developed a reverse genetics system for JEV that will greatly facilitate the research on this virus in a variety of different fields. It will also be useful as a heterologous gene expression vector and aid the development of a vaccine against JEV.