• 한국패류학회지
• /
• 제27권1호
• /
• pp.77-86
• /
• 2011

The unwanted artificial oil-spill has severely contaminated the coastal environment in the world. Level of contamination has so far been monitered by various indicator species including mussel, oysters, flounder, and cockle. In this study, we decided to use the oyster as a model organism to observe the morphological changes being exposed to the artificial oil-spill in the coastal areas in Taean, Korea. The oysters were collected from four local sites (Sindu-ri, Uiwang-ri, Jonghyeon-dong, Ansan and Uihang-ri) exposed to various levels of pollution after an oil spill in Taean. Microscopic analysis of the hepatopancreatic microstructure in the digestive gland from the collected oysters show that the swelling, whorl, and destruction phenomenon of the nuclear membrane, a well-known microstructure induced by heavy metal exposure, was observed. Nuclear body (Nb), another typical characteristic of contamination or infection were also observed in some samples. Necrosis was observed in tissue samples collected from the area with a high degree of oil pollution. In addition, parasite-like particles (virus, perkinsus) were observed in most samples. Taken together, these results suggest that oil contamination in the oyster habitats influences the cytopathological changes in Crassostrea gigas.

• 한국임상수의학회지
• /
• 제27권1호
• /
• pp.11-16
• /
• 2010

대전동물원에 탄자니아로부터 페리칸이 수입되었고 5일 후에 한 마리가 폐사 하였다. 선위에서 다수의 기생충을 분리하였으며 다음과 같은 특징을 가지고 있었다. 3개의 입술이 존재하였고 입술에는 치상돌기가 존재하지 않았으며 입술 사이에는 순간돌기가 잘 발달되어 있었다. 순간돌기는 삼각형으로 분기되어 있지 않았다. 수컷은 다수의 전항문 유두 (69-79)가 아복면에 배열되어 있었다. 부총배설강 유두는 대형의 1쌍과 5개가 존재하였다. 이러한 형태학적 특징을 기초로 페리칸에서 분리한 기생충을 Contracaecum rudolphii로 분류하였다.

• 한국동물위생학회지
• /
• 제30권3호
• /
• pp.445-457
• /
• 2007

This report studied the individual number, their favorite habitat, and change pattern of family and group number in Cheolwon Basin, starting in the early Oct. 2004 until late March. 2005 to investigate the ecological features of the Red-crowned Crane and the White-naped Crane. The Cranes arrived Cheolwon Basin in mid-October until next mid-March, and passed the winter in mid-November until next late-February The most visiting number amounted to 550 individuals and, that period was the most frosting mid-January to mid-February. The White-naped Crane visited Cheolwon Basin in autumn, the early winter and spring. Approximately, the wintering-number is 550 individuals, also, the mid-March was the peak-period of arrival and, the number amounted to 2,162 individuals. The cranes chose the farming area around mountains as their wintering habitat and were less likely to choose the farming area around lake as habitat. The Red-crowned Crane and the White-naped Crane showed the different periodical pattern in familial and group numbers. In case of the crane, the familial pattern was stable, but varied in grouping number, and this pattern was similar to the variation of overall individual number. And, also, the most grouping number was shown in the most freezing period of wintering period. The White-naped Crane showed the similar pattern of the Red-crowned Crane that is, stable family number and varying group number, this pattern affected the total number of entire individuals. Grouping number increased in migration period. Parasite infection rate is G japonensis 35.0%, G vipio 38.7%.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• 제64권5호
• /
• pp.379-382
• /
• 2008

저자들은 흉부 외상 2개월 후 말초 혈액 호산구증가증이 동반된 호산구성 흉수가 발생한 환자에게서, 가능한 다른 원인들을 감별하고 특별한 치료 없이 경과 관찰하여 호전된 외상 후 호산구성 흉수를 경험하였기에 문헌 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• 제14권2호
• /
• pp.53-61
• /
• 2016

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular Apicomplexan parasite and a causative agent of toxoplasmosis in human. It causes encephalitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis, and congenital infection. T. gondii invades the host cell by forming a moving junction (MJ) complex. This complex formation is initiated by intermolecular interactions between the two secretory parasitic proteins-namely, apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) and rhoptry neck protein 2 (RON2) and is critically essential for the host invasion process. By this study, we propose two potential leads, NSC95522 and NSC179676 that can efficiently target the AMA1 hydrophobic cleft, which is a hotspot for targeting MJ complex formation. The proposed leads are the result of an exhaustive conformational search-based virtual screen with multilevel precision scoring of the docking affinities. These two compounds surpassed all the precision levels of docking and also the stringent post docking and cumulative molecular dynamics evaluations. Moreover, the backbone flexibility of hotspot residues in the hydrophobic cleft, which has been previously reported to be essential for accommodative binding of RON2 to AMA1, was also highly perturbed by these compounds. Furthermore, binding free energy calculations of these two compounds also revealed a significant affinity to AMA1. Machine learning approaches also predicted these two compounds to possess more relevant activities. Hence, these two leads, NSC95522 and NSC179676, may prove to be potential inhibitors targeting AMA1-RON2 complex formation towards combating toxoplasmosis.

• 한국동물위생학회지
• /
• 제39권4호
• /
• pp.253-258
• /
• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of honey bee (Apis mellifera) disease in Daejeon. From May to September in 2014, 63 samples were collected from 63 apiculture farms in the regions and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted. A total of 11 infectious pathogens, including 6 virus, 2 bacteria, 2 fungi, and 1 parasite, were investigated in honeybee colonies suffering from symptom of sudden collapse, depopulation or paralysis. The infectious pathogens and infection rates among 63 honeybee colonies detected were as follows: sacbrood virus (12.7%), chronic bee paralysis virus (1.6%), stonebrood (11.1%), American foulbrood (19.0%), European foulbrood (6.3%), respectively. The result indicate that foul-brood was most prevalent disease in apiculture farms in Daejeon area.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• 제22권3호
• /
• pp.40.1-40.12
• /
• 2021

Background: The microsporidian parasite Nosema ceranae is a global problem in honeybee populations and is known to cause winter mortality. A sensitive and rapid tool for stable quantitative detection is necessary to establish further research related to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of this pathogen. Objectives: The present study aimed to develop a quantitative method that incorporates ultra-rapid real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (UR-qPCR) for the rapid enumeration of N. ceranae in infected bees. Methods: A procedure for UR-qPCR detection of N. ceranae was developed, and the advantages of molecular detection were evaluated in comparison with microscopic enumeration. Results: UR-qPCR was more sensitive than microscopic enumeration for detecting two copies of N. ceranae DNA and 24 spores per bee. Meanwhile, the limit of detection by microscopy was 2.40 × 10⁴ spores/bee, and the stable detection level was ≥ 2.40 × 10⁵ spores/bee. The results of N. ceranae calculations from the infected honeybees and purified spores by UR-qPCR showed that the DNA copy number was approximately 8-fold higher than the spore count. Additionally, honeybees infected with N. ceranae with 2.74 × 10⁴ copies of N. ceranae DNA were incapable of detection by microscopy. The results of quantitative analysis using UR-qPCR were accomplished within 20 min. Conclusions: UR-qPCR is expected to be the most rapid molecular method for Nosema detection and has been developed for diagnosing nosemosis at low levels of infection.

• 대한약침학회지
• /
• 제22권3호
• /
• pp.154-159
• /
• 2019

Objectives: Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide health problem that caused by intracellular apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Considering that the available drugs for toxoplasmosis have serious host toxicity, the aim of the current study was to survey the in vitro and in vivo anti-Toxoplasma activity of Zea mays (Z. mays) and Eryngium caucasicum (E. caucasicum) extracts. Methods: Four concentrations (5, 10, 25, and $50mg\;mL^{-1}$) of Z. mays and E. caucasicum methanolic extracts for 30, 60, 120, and 180 min were incubated with infected macrophages and then the viability of RH strain of T. gondii tachyzoites was evaluated by trypan blue staining method. Also, we evaluated the survival rate of acutely infected mice with the extracts (100 and $200mg\;kg^{-1}\;day^{-1}$) intraperitoneally for 5 days after infection with $2{\times}104$ tachyzoites of T. gondii. Results: The anti-Toxoplasma effect of the methanolic extracts were extremely significant compared to the negative control group in all exposure times (P < 0.05). The Z. mays (10, 25 and $50mg\;mL^{-1}$) killed 100% of the parasites after 180 and 120 min exposure, respectively. Also, high toxoplasmacidal activity was observed with E. caucasicum extract. Furthermore, treatment of experimentally infected mice with the Z. mays (100, $200mg\;kg^{-1}\;day^{-1}$) and E. caucasicum ($100mg\;kg^{-1}\;day^{-1}$) significantly increased their survival rate compared to untreated infected control (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These extracts are promising candidates for further medicine development on toxoplasmosis. However, further investigations are necessary to clarify effective fractions of the Z. mays and E. caucasicum extracts and the mechanisms of action.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제59권4호
• /
• pp.415-419
• /
• 2021

The circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium spp. is a diagnostic antigen and useful biomarker for monitoring short-term/seasonal changes to malaria transmission. Using P. vivax CSP antibody ELISA, epidemiological characteristics were analyzed in the residents of Ganghwa, Cheorwon, Paju, and Goseong from 2017 to 2018. In Ganghwa and Cheorwon, 1.6% and 1.2% of residents, respectively, were PvCSP-antibody-positive in 2018, which indicates a decrease of 0.4% in the positive rate compared to 2017. The annual parasite incidence (API) in Ganghwa and Cheorwon was 24.9 and 10.5 in 2017 and 20.3 and 10.7 in 2018, respectively. Although the changes were not significant, the API in Ganghwa decreased slightly by 4.5 in 2018 compared to the previous year. In Paju and Goseong, 3.9% and 2.0% of residents were positive for the PvCSP antibody. The API in Paju was 13.1 in 2017 and 16.0 in 2018, although no malaria patients were reported for the 2 years. Therefore, the results suggest that PvCSP is a useful antigen for confirming initial malaria infection. Additionally, considering that the antibody is relatively transient, it can be employed for sero-epidemiological studies to determine the extent of malaria transmission in the current year.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• 제60권6호
• /
• pp.401-407
• /
• 2022

Antimalarial drugs play an important role in the control and treatment of malaria, a deadly disease caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium spp. The development of novel antimalarial agents effective against drug-resistant malarial parasites is urgently needed. The novel derivatives, SKM13-MeO and SKM13-F, were designed based on an SKM13 template by replacing the phenyl group with electron-donating (-OMe) or electron-withdrawing groups (-F), respectively, to reverse the electron density. A colorimetric assay was used to quantify cytotoxicity, and in vitro inhibition assays were performed on 3 different blood stages (ring, trophozoite, and schizonts) of P. falciparum 3D7 and the ring/mixed stage of D6 strain after synchronization. The in vitro cytotoxicity analysis showed that 2 new SKM13 derivatives reduced the cytotoxicity of the SKM13 template. SKM13 maintained the IC₅₀ at the ring and trophozoite stages but not at the schizont stage. The IC₅₀ values for both the trophozoite stage of P. falciparum 3D7 and ring/mixed stages of D6 demonstrated that 2 SKM13 derivatives had decreased antimalarial efficacy, particularly for the SKM13-F derivative. SKM13 may be comparably effective in ring and trophozoite, and electron-donating groups (-OMe) may be better maintain the antimalarial activity than electron-withdrawing groups (-F) in SKM13 modification.