• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.149-153
• /
• 2013

Candidiasis is a fungal infection of the most common causes; generally, opportunistic infections occur often in patients with weakened immune systems. Because of high rates in fungal infection patients and increasing frequency of being isolated from clinical materials, quickly identifying of Candida albicans is critical. By identifying 404 yeast cell strains of referred samples via API 20C kits, NGL and PRO tests and Germ tube (GT) test were conducted and compared. In the 3.0 McFarland yeast cells, 0.1% ${\rho}-nitrophenyl-N-acetyl-{\beta}-D-galactosaminide$ (NGL) and 0.04% ${\small{L}}$-proline ${\beta}$-naphtylamide (PRO) were each put in test tubes and incubated at $35^{\circ}C$ for 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes. Afterwards, 1 drop of 2% NaOH was applied, and if the color turned yellow; it was positive for NGL test. Afterwards, 1% ${\rho}$-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde was applied, and if the upper layer turned pink or red, it was positive for PRO test. NGL and PRO tests were conducted for all C. albicans and identified accurately within 30 minutes. In NGL, PRO test, false-positive, negative were not seen, whereas, GT test showed false-positive in 1 strain and false-negative in 3 strains. Therefore, sensitivity and specificity of NGL, PRO tests were 100% and 99.5%, respectively, and positive and negative predictive rate were 99.5% and 100%, respectively. However, GT test sensitivity and specificity were 98.5% and 99.5%, respectively, and positive and negative predictive rates were 99.5% and 98.5%, respectively. In conclusion, NGL, PRO tests are better than GT tests for sensitivity and specificity, therefore, these reliable tests will be useful in clinical laboratories.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.645-652
• /
• 2000

This study was performed to investigate Mycoplasma (M) spp. infection status of dairy cow in South Korea. Among 8,485 bulk tank milk collected from dairy farms of the 5 areas, 26 samples (0.30%) were positive for Mycoplasma by direct culture method. The isolation rates of Mycoplasma spp. according to the areas were 0.51% in Kyonggi, 0.16% in Cholla, 0.23% in Gyoungsang, 0.12% in Chungchong, and 0.08% in Kangwon. In the species identification test by indirect immunoperoxidase test, 16 out of 26 isolates were identified as M bovis (61.53%), M bovigenitalium (23.07%), M californicum (7.69%), M alkalescens and Acholeplasma laidlawii (3.84%), respectively. The isolation rate of Mycoplasma spp. from 208 quarter milk samples in culling cows due to severe clinical mastitis was 3.0%. These Mycoplasma spp. were identified as M bovis (62.0%), M bovigenitalium (12.0%), M californicaum (12.0%), and M alkalescens (12.0%). This study shows that the bovine mammary gland infected by Mycoplasma spp. is present in some dairy farms and the routine culture test of bulk tank milk samples for Mycoplasma is needed for a high quality milk promotion services.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.117-123
• /
• 2006

The purpose is to study the identification method of Huangjinju powder for injection and the medicinal materials by the fingerprint off-ray Diffraction Fourier (XRDF). We used the same method on both the studying of Huangjinju and the medicinal materials. Then we selected a few components alignment to compare. We analyzed the data by setting up the deviation $d({\AA})$ as ${\pm}0.05$ to calculate the rate of special mark on the sample (Px) and on the patent (P). The special XRDF of Huangjinju$[d({\AA})/(I/I_0)]$ have 5 peaks that have not expressed in medicinal materials. Therefore Px is 22.73%. Flos Trollii Chinensis has 3 special marks and Px is 17.65%. Flos Chrysanthemi Indici has 1 special mark and Px is 3.57%. Its coincided interplanar spacing with the patent is $2.907{\AA}$. Flos Lonicerae Japonicae has 6 special marks and Px is 23.08%. Its special mark in the patent are 4.95/14 and 4.50/15, respectively. The P is 9.09%. Its coincided interplanar spacing with the patent is $2.910{\AA}\;and\;3.05{\AA}$, respectively. The number of special XRDF mark peaks of baicalin is 9 and Px is 18.37%. Its coincided interplanar spacing with the patent is $2.910{\AA}$. It has visible mark and specificity adopting XRDF fingerprint to identify Huangjinju and medicinal materials. Establishing the quality standard is a synthetic index that depends both on special marks in the medicinal materials of the patent and on the coincidence peak data.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.228-234
• /
• 2010

In this paper, Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composite photocatalysts were prepared with titanium (IV) n-butoxide (TNB) by a sol-gel method. $TiO_2$, Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), specific surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the photocatalytic oxidation of methylene blue (MB) solution. XRD patterns of the composites showed that the photocatalyst composite contained a typical single and clear anatase phase. The surface properties shown by SEM presented a characterization of the texture on Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites and showed a homogenous composition in the particles for the titanium sources used. The EDX spectra for the elemental identification showed the presence of O, C and Ti elements. Moreover, peaks of the Fe element were observed in the Fe-$TiO_2$ and Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ composites. The degradation of MB solution by UV-light irradiation in the presence of photocatalyst compounds was investigated in complete darkness. The degradation of MB concentration in aqueous solution occurred via three kinds of physical phenomena: quantum efficiency of the fullerene; organo-metallic reaction of the Fe compound; and decomposition of $TiO_2$. The degradation rate of the methylene blue solution increased when using Fe-fullerene/$TiO_2$ compounds.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2020

A serious leaf disease caused by Colletotrichum dematium was found during the cultivation of Sarcandra glabra in Jingxi, Rong'an, and Donglan Counties in Guangxi Province, which inflicted huge losses to plant productivity. Biological control gradually became an effective control method for plant pathogens. Many studies showed that the application of actinomycetes in biological control has been effective. Therefore, it may be of great significance to study the application of actinomycetes on controlling the diseases caused by S. glabra. Strains of antifungal actinomycetes capable of inhibiting C. dematium were identified, isolated and screened from healthy plants tissues and the rhizospheres in soils containing S. glabra. In this study, 15 actinomycetes strains were isolated and among these, strains JT-2F, DT-3F, and JJ-3F, appeared to show antagonistic effects against anthracnose of S. glabra. The strains JT-2F and DT-3F were isolated from soil, while JJ-3F was isolated from plant stems. The antagonism rate of strain JT-2F was 86.75%, which was the highest value among the three strains. Additionally, the JT-2F strain also had the strongest antagonistic activity when the antagonistic activities were tested against seven plant pathogens. Strain JT-2F is able to produce proteases and cellulase to degrade the protein and cellulose components of cell walls of C. dematium, respectively. This results in mycelia damage which leads to inhibition of the growth of C. dematium. Strain JT-2F was identified as Streptomyces tsukiyonensis based on morphological traits and 16S rDNA sequence analysis.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.465-473
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This study was undertaken to analyze Staphylococcus aureus from cultivation environments for agricultural products and to confirm antibiotic resistance and enterotoxin genes for the isolated S. aureus. Methods: A total of 648 samples were collected from apple, peach, ginseng and balloon flower farms. S. aureus was isolated from soil, agricultural water, personal hygiene elements (hands, gloves and clothes) and work utensils (boxes). Results: S. aureus was detected in a total of 25 samples and 72 strains were isolated. The resistance rate of the isolated S. aureus strains was confirmed at 33.3%, with 24 resistant strains among the total of 72. Fourteen different patterns types were found, and three pattern types (NV, OX, VA) were confirmed most frequently. As result of the detection of enterotoxin gene type, four gene types (sea: 1, sed: 4, seg: all isolated S. aureus, sei: all isolated S. aureus) were analyzed among a total of nine types. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that personal hygiene techniques should be properly managed, such as washing and sterilization before or after work, because agricultural contamination by S. aureus frequently developed through improper management.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.10 no.10
• /
• pp.1920-1926
• /
• 2006

With social interest, there hie been a lot of research on the Service Robot but now we are faced with the limitation of single platform. The alternative plan is the Ubiquitous-based Service Robot connected with a Ubiquitous network to overcome this limitation. Systems using RFID(Radio frequency Identification) and supersonic waves appeared for functions such as recognition of surroundings through Ubiquitous Sensor Networks. This was applied to the real robot and we have got good results. However, this has several limitations to applying to low power-based Sensor Network For example, if RFID uses a passive Sensor, the rate of recognition with the distance is limited. In case of supersonic waves, high power is required to drive them. Therefore, we intend to develop RSSI position recognition system on the basis of embodying a Sensor Network Module in this thesis. This RSSI position recognition system only measures RSSI of signals from each sensor nod. then converts them into distances and calculates the position. As a result, we can still use low power-based Sensor Network and overcome the limitation according to distance as planning Ad-Hoc Network.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.59 no.3
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a serious bacterial infection that can cause renal scarring in children. Early identification of APN is critical to improve treatment outcomes. The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic marker of many diseases, but it has not yet been established in urinary tract infection (UTI). The aim of this study was to determine whether NLR is a useful marker to predict APN or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 298 pediatric patients ($age{\leq}36months$) with febrile UTI from January 2010 to December 2014. Conventional infection markers (white blood cell [WBC] count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-reactive protein [CRP]), and NLR were measured. Results: WBC, CRP, ESR, and NLR were higher in APN than in lower UTI (P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that NLR was a predictive factor for positive dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) defects (P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was high for NLR (P<0.001) as well as CRP (P<0.001) for prediction of DMSA defects. NLR showed the highest area under the ROC curve for diagnosis of VUR (P<0.001). Conclusion: NLR can be used as a diagnostic marker of APN with DMSA defect, showing better results than those of conventional markers for VUR prediction.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.253-265
• /
• 2016

In this study, travel time data collection of mine equipments was conducted in an underground mine using a reverse Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) system. In the reverse RFID system, RFID readers and antennas are mounted on mine equipments, and RFID tags are attached to the underground mine gallery. Indoor experiments were performed to analyze how RFID reader transmission power levels affect tag readable area and tag recognition rates. The results showed that travel time measurement become precise when the reader transmission power was reduced, however tag recognition rates were reduced. The field experiments indicated that setting the reader transmission power to 28 dBm maintained the tag recognition rate while minimizing the tracking location error. In addition, the results revealed that the reverse RFID system can be used successfully in an underground mine to collect the travel time data of haulage trucks.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.399-408
• /
• 2018

In this study, we examined the molecular and functional characterization of choline uptake in the human esophageal cancer cells. In addition, we examined the influence of various drugs on the transport of [$^3H$]choline, and explored the possible correlation between the inhibition of choline uptake and apoptotic cell death. We found that both choline transporter-like protein 1 (CTL1) and CTL2 mRNAs and proteins were highly expressed in esophageal cancer cell lines (KYSE series). CTL1 and CTL2 were located in the plasma membrane and mitochondria, respectively. Choline uptake was saturable and mediated by a single transport system, which is both $Na^+$-independent and pH-dependent. Choline uptake and cell viability were inhibited by various cationic drugs. Furthermore, a correlation analysis of the potencies of 47 drugs for the inhibition of choline uptake and cell viability showed a strong correlation. Choline uptake inhibitors and choline deficiency each inhibited cell viability and increased caspase-3/7 activity. We conclude that extracellular choline is mainly transported via a CTL1. The functional inhibition of CTL1 by cationic drugs could promote apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, CTL2 may be involved in choline uptake in mitochondria, which is the rate-limiting step in S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthesis and DNA methylation. Identification of this CTL1- and CTL2-mediated choline transport system provides a potential new target for esophageal cancer therapy.