• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.282-289
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• 2021

A novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), caused a worldwide pandemic. Our aim in this study is to produce new fusion inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2, which can be the basis for developing new antiviral drugs. The fusion core comprising the heptad repeat domains (HR1 and HR2) of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) were used to design the peptides. A total of twelve peptides were generated, comprising a short or truncated 24-mer (peptide #1), a long 36-mer peptide (peptide #2), and ten peptide #2 analogs. In contrast to SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated cell-cell fusion cannot be inhibited with a minimal length, 24-mer peptide. Peptide #2 demonstrated potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated cell-cell fusion at 1 µM concentration. Three peptide #2 analogs showed IC50 values in the low micromolar range (4.7-9.8 µM). Peptide #2 inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus assay at IC50=1.49 µM. Given their potent inhibition of viral activity and safety and lack of cytotoxicity, these peptides provide an attractive avenue for the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2023

Objective: This study aims to provide empirical data on epidemic management measures and childcare teacher education in centers. It examines the relationship between infectious disease knowledge, health control knowledge, and self-efficacy in relation to the practice of preventive behaviors among infant and toddler teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study involved 300 teachers from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Results: The study found that there is a positive relationship between childcare teachers' knowledge of infectious diseases and their engagement in preventive behavior. Additionally, internal control among the health care factors of childcare teachers also showed a positive relationship. Furthermore, the study revealed that the self-efficacy of childcare teachers is positively associated with their practice of preventive behavior. Overall, infectious disease knowledge, internal control measures, and self-efficacy were all found to have positive relationships with preventive behavior. Conclusion/Implications: This study proposes a new direction for future teacher education by highlighting the effectiveness of psychological factors, specifically health control materials and self-efficacy, in addition to focusing on improving infectious disease knowledge.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1457-1462
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• 2010

Three types of serotypically atypical Shigella flexneri isolates were collected between 2007 and 2008 from Korean patients at the Korea National Institute of Health (NIH). These atypical isolates were characterized and compared with serologically typical S. flexneri. The first grouping of 11 atypical isolates displayed agglutination only with polyB antiserum and exhibited no reaction with any typing or grouping sera (PolyB:un). The second group of 3 isolates displayed reactions with typing sera IV, but also did not bind with any grouping sera (IV:un). The third group of 14 isolates exhibited a plural agglutination pattern, reacting with typing sera II, and two grouping sera (II:(3)4,7(8)). Amongst these atypical isolates, isolates belonging to IV:un and II:(3)4,7(8) exhibited greater antibiotic resistance, in particular to ampicillin, streptomycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, than typical S. flexneri strains. Furthermore, all II:(3)4,7(8) strains harbored integrons. This study suggests that these multiple antibiotic-resistant atypical S. flexneri are new subserotypes of S. flexneri that await further serological classification.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.13
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• 2021

Background: Microsporum canis is a zoonotic disease that can cause dermatophytosis in animals and humans. Objectives: In clinical practice, ketoconazole (KTZ) and other imidazole drugs are commonly used to treat M. canis infection, but its molecular mechanism is not completely understood. The antifungal mechanism of KTZ needs to be studied in detail. Methods: In this study, one strain of fungi was isolated from a canine suffering with clinical dermatosis and confirmed as M. canis by morphological observation and sequencing analysis. The clinically isolated M. canis was treated with KTZ and transcriptome sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in M. canis exposed to KTZ compared with those unexposed thereto. Results: At half-inhibitory concentration (½MIC), compared with the control group, 453 genes were significantly up-regulated and 326 genes were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.05). Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis verified the transcriptome results of RNA sequencing. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that the 3 pathways of RNA polymerase, steroid biosynthesis, and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes are closely related to the antifungal mechanism of KTZ. Conclusions: The results indicated that KTZ may change cell membrane permeability, destroy the cell wall, and inhibit mitosis and transcriptional regulation through CYP51, SQL, ERG6, ATM, ABCB1, SC, KER33, RPA1, and RNP genes in the 3 pathways. This study provides a new theoretical basis for the effective control of M. canis infection and the effect of KTZ on fungi.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.816-827
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between fear and anger emotions in the discourse produced by the media during the period of major emerging infectious diseases (SARS, Swine Flu, MERS, and COVID-19) that occurred since 2000 in Korea. The researcher collected editorial articles of the major daily newspaper after a significant epidemic of new infectious diseases and analyzed them using the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) and text mining techniques. In all epidemic times, fear appears stronger than anger, but the smaller the fear, the greater the risk control message is produced. In detail, fear emerges strongly in the discourse of the risk of infectious diseases or the economic crisis. Anger appears strong when the government's quarantine failures, groups where group infections occurred, and concealing information about infectious diseases. In this process, anger is strongly expressed against the factors that threaten the safety of society. Anger is also an emotion that can justify strong quarantine, but it can be the basis for discourse on minority hate. In this respect, anger is a two-sided emotion, so it must be handled carefully in the media.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.301-307
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• 2018

The development of transport is being easily shared with people all over the world. It is necessary to appropriately and effectively revise the domestic quarantine law because the fatal infectious diseases are at risk of being easily shared. Today, Korea has an advanced quarantine system approved by World Health Organization, but it maintains partnerships with related ministries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, local medical institutions) and to introduce new medical technology (electronic quarantine) is important. And since the prevention of quarantine infectious diseases and prevention of the spread, in order to maintain international cooperation with the International Health Regulations, the quarantine law and the system should be amended and improved effectively and it is also a way to prepare for the outbreak of new quarantine infectious diseases. In the past, Korea has experienced great confusion during the past outbreak of swine flu and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. To prevent similar cases from recurring in the past, the revision of the quarantine law and the improvement of the system should be done to cope with the changing environment (new infections, increased number of overseas travelers, etc.).

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.425-437
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• 2000

As we enter the new millennium, there have been dramatic improvements in the care of patients with HIV infection. These have prolonged life and decreased morbidity and mortality. There are fourteen currently available antiretrovirals approved in the United States for the treatment of this infection. The medications, including their pharmacokinetic properties, side effects, and dosing are reviewed. In addition, the current approach to the use of these medicines is discussed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.689-694
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• 2013

Opisthorchis viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis are parasites known to be carcinogenic and causative agents of cholangiocarcinoma in Asia. The standard method for diagnosis for those parasite infections is stool examination to detect parasite eggs. However, the method has low sensitivity, and eggs of O. viverrini and C. sinensis are difficult to distinguish from each other and from those of some other trematodes. Here, we report a multiplex real-time PCR coupled with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis for the differentiation of O. viverrini and C. sinensis eggs in fecal samples. Using 2 pairs of species-specific primers, DNA sequences from a portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (nad 2) gene, were amplified to generate 209 and 165 bp products for O. viverrini and C. sinensis, respectively. The distinct characteristics of HRM patterns were analyzed, and the melting temperatures peaked at $82.4{\pm}0.09^{\circ}C$ and $85.9{\pm}0.08^{\circ}C$ for O. viverrini and C. sinensis, respectively. This technique was able to detect as few as 1 egg of O. viverrini and 2 eggs of C. sinensis in a 150 mg fecal sample, which is equivalent to 7 and 14 eggs per gram of feces, respectively. The method is species-specific, rapid, simple, and does not require fluorescent probes or post-PCR processing for discrimination of eggs of the 2 species. It offers a new tool for differentiation and detection of Asian liver fluke infections in stool specimens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.301-318
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• 2007

Marek's disease (MD) is a highly contagious lymphoproliferative disease of poultry caused by the oncogenic herpesvirus designated Marek's disease virus (MDV). MD has a worldwide distribution and is thought to cause an annual loss over US$ one billion to the poultry industry. Originally described as a paralytic disease, today MD is mostly manifested as an acute disease with tumors in multiple visceral organs. MD is controlled essentially by the widespread use of live vaccines administered either in ovo into 18-day-old embryos or into chicks immediately after they hatch. In spite of the success of the vaccines in reducing the losses from the disease in the last 30 years, MDV strains have shown continuous evolution in virulence acquiring the ability to overcome the immune responses induced by the vaccines. During this period, different generations of MD vaccines have been introduced to protect birds from the increasingly virulent MDV strains. However, the virus will be countered each new vaccine strategy with ever more virulent strains. In spite of this concern, currently field problem from MD is likely to be controled by strategy of using bivalent vaccine. But, potential risk factors for outbreak of MD are still remained in this condition. The major factors can be thought that improper handling and incorrect administration of the vaccine, infection prior to establishment of immunity, suppression of immune system by environmental stress and outbreaks of more virulent MDV strain by using vaccine and genetic resistance of host.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.33-34
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• 2005