• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.59-70
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• 2024

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic (the form of coronaviruses) developed at the end of 2019 and spread rapidly to almost every corner of the world. It has infected around 25,334,339 of the world population by the end of September 1, 2020 [1] . It has been spreading ever since, and the peak specific to every country has been rising and falling and does not seem to be over yet. Currently, the conventional RT-PCR testing is required to detect COVID-19, but the alternative method for data archiving purposes is certainly another choice for public departments to make. Researchers are trying to use medical images such as X-ray and Computed Tomography (CT) to easily diagnose the virus with the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based software. Method: This review paper provides an investigation of a newly emerging machine-learning method used to detect COVID-19 from X-ray images instead of using other methods of tests performed by medical experts. The facilities of computer vision enable us to develop an automated model that has clinical abilities of early detection of the disease. We have explored the researchers' focus on the modalities, images of datasets for use by the machine learning methods, and output metrics used to test the research in this field. Finally, the paper concludes by referring to the key problems posed by identifying COVID-19 using machine learning and future work studies. Result: This review's findings can be useful for public and private sectors to utilize the X-ray images and deployment of resources before the pandemic can reach its peaks, enabling the healthcare system with cushion time to bear the impact of the unfavorable circumstances of the pandemic is sure to cause

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.53-74
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• 2024

The proliferation of health misinformation gained momentum amidst the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). People stuck in their homes, without work pressure, regardless of health concerns towards personal, family, or peer groups, consistently demanded information. People became engaged with misinformation while attempting to find health information content. This study used the content analysis method and analyzed 1,154 misinformation stories from four prominent signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network during the pandemic. The study finds the five main categories of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are 1) the severity of the virus, 2) cure, prevention, and treatment, 3) myths and rumors about vaccines, 4) health authorities' guidelines, and 5) personal and social impacts. Various sub-categories supported the content characteristics of these categories. The study also analyzed the emotional valence of health misinformation. It was found that misinformation containing negative sentiments got higher engagement during the pandemic. Positive and neutral sentiment misinformation has less reach. Surprise, fear, and anger/aggressive emotions highly affected people during the pandemic; in general, people and social media users warning people to safeguard themselves from COVID-19 and creating a confusing state were found as the primary motivation behind the propagation of misinformation. The present study offers valuable perspectives on the mechanisms underlying the spread of health-related misinformation amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. It highlights the significance of discerning the accuracy of information and the feelings it conveys in minimizing the adverse effects on the well-being of public health.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11.1-11.10
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• 2021

Coronavirus causes an infectious disease in various species and crosses the species barriers leading to the outbreak of zoonotic diseases. Due to the respiratory diseases are mainly caused in humans and viruses are replicated and excreted through the respiratory tract, the nasal fluid and sputum are mainly used for diagnosis. Early diagnosis of coronavirus plays an important role in preventing its spread and is essential for quarantine policies. For rapid decision and prompt triage of infected host, the immunochromatographic assay (ICA) has been widely used for point of care testing. However, when the ICA is applied to an expectorated sputum in which antigens are present, the viscosity of sputum interferes with the migration of the antigens on the test strip. To overcome this limitation, it is necessary to use a mucolytic agent without affecting the antigens. In this study, we combined known mucolytic agents to lower the viscosity of sputum and applied that to alpha and beta coronavirus, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), respectively, spiked in sputum to find optimal pretreatment conditions. The pretreatment method using tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) and BSA was suitable for ICA diagnosis of sputum samples spiked with PEDV and MERS-CoV. This sensitive assay for the detection of coronavirus in sputum provides an useful information for the diagnosis of pathogen in low respiratory tract.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.467-475
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• 2023

Background: To mitigate the spread of Covid-19, nurses infected with the virus were required to isolate themselves from their families and community. Isolated patients were reported to have experienced mental distress, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and suicide. Though studies have reported the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, less is known about the lived experiences of nurses who survived Covid-19 infection in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to study the lived experiences of registered nurses who survived Covid-19 disease. In-depth interviews were conducted among nurses diagnosed with Covid-19 from two hospitals in Kenya between March and May, 2021. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit registered nurses. Data were analyzed using Giorgi's steps of analysis. Results: The study included ten nurses between 29 and 45 years of age. Nurses' experiences encompassed three themes: diagnosis reaction, consequences, and coping. Reactions to the diagnosis included fear, anxiety, and sadness. The consequence of the diagnosis and isolation was stigma, isolation, and loneliness. Nurses coping mechanisms included acceptance, creating routines, support, and spirituality. Conclusion: Our findings aid in understanding how nurses experienced Covid-19 infection as patients and will provide evidence-based content for supporting nurses in future pandemics. Moreover, as we acknowledge the heroic contribution of frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is prudent to recognize the considerable occupational risk as they balance their duty to care, and the risk of infection to themselves and their families.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.135-155
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• 2024

Urban public health monitoring in smart cities focuses on the control of conditions and health challenges in urban environments. Considering the rapid spread of diseases and pandemics, it is important for health authorities to trace people carrying the virus. In smart cities, this tracing must be interoperable and intelligent, especially in indoor surfaces characterized by small distances between people. Therefore, to fight pandemics, it is necessary to start with the already-existing digital equipment of the Internet of Things, such as connected objects and smartphones. In this study, the developed system is employed to provide a social IoT network and suggest a strategy which allows reliable traceability without threatening the privacy of users. This IoT-based system allows respecting the social distance between persons sharing public services in smart cities without applying smartphone applications or severe confinement. It also permits a return to normal life in case of viral pandemic and ensures the much-desired balance between economy and health. The present study analyses previous proposed social distance systems then, unlike these studies, suggests an intelligent and distributed IoT based strategy for positioning students. Two scenarios of static and dynamic optimization-based placement of Bluetooth Low Energy devices are proposed and an experimental study shows the contribution and complementarity of the introduced contact tracing strategy with the applications on smartphones.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.125-128
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• 2022

Post-vaccination side effects of AstraZeneca (AZ) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine are common. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection immediately after the first dose of AZ COVID-19 vaccine has not been reported. In this case, a 30-year-old female without a past medical history of SARS-CoV2 infection presented to an outpatient clinic with lightheadedness and weakness 2 hours after getting the first dose of the AZ COVID-19 vaccine. Blood pressure (BP) was 80/60 mm Hg, and oxygen saturation (SpO₂) was 98%. After administering normal saline intravenous fluid, the BP was 110/80 mm Hg. On the first day, fever (oral temperature of 39℃), sweating, dry cough, sore throat, and injection-site pain were presented. On the second day, diarrhea, productive cough, and hypotension occurred in addition to fever (oral temperature of 39.9℃). The fever did not stop and productive cough, change in smell, and fatigue were reported. SpO₂ was 96%. On the third day, no abnormality of the spiral lung computed tomography and the positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test were reported. Simultaneously, two out of three members of the family became symptomatic on the second day and their RT-PCR tests were positive. Dexamethasone ampule, Cefixime tablet, Acetaminophen tablet, and Diphenhydramine syrup were prescribed. After a week, fever subsided and SpO₂ was 98%. After 3 weeks of self-quarantine at home, her general condition improved. Despite the similarity between SARS-CoV2 infection signs and symptoms and AZ COVID-19 vaccine side effects, none of the approved vaccines contain the live virus that causes disease. Therefore, any unusual post-vaccination signs and symptoms should not be attributed to the vaccine itself and need to be considered for further evaluations and early actions in order to prevent the spread of the disease in society.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.210-218
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• 2015

Melon leaves showing yellowing symptoms were analyzed using electron microscopy and RT-PCR for major cucurbit-infecting-viruses (CMV, MNSV, CGMMV, SqMV, WMV, KGMMV, PRSV and ZYMV) reported in Korea, but these viruses were not detected. As the result of further analysis by next-generation sequencing (NGS), the virus was identified as Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), and then confirmed by RT-PCR using CABYV-specific primers. When photosynthetic capacity was measured based on chlorophyll fluorescence yield (ChlFY), the leaves of the diseased plants showed $4.09{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, which was one-third of the readings observed for unaffected normal plants ($12.36{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$). The root functions of plants affected by leaf yellowing symptoms (LYS) was $0.28mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$, about half that measured for the normal unaffected plants ($0.48mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$). Cytological observations revealed that there were no morphological differences in the palisade parenchyma and mesophyll spongy cells of the leaves between the diseased and the normal plants. However, the same leaf cells of the affected plants contained more starch granules compared to those of the normal, unaffected plants. We conclude that the LYS of muskmelon is not merely a physiological disorder but a viral disease caused by CABYV and spread by aphids.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.264-271
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• 2020

We have developed a simultaneous diagnostic method that can identify both the species of thrips and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) that are problematic in chrysanthemum plants. This is a method of amplifying DNA by performing reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction by simultaneously adding primers specific to TSWV coat protein (N) gene and primers specific to the internal transcribed spacer 2 region of Frankliniella occidentalis and F. intonsa using total nucleic acid extracted from one thrips. The sizes of DNA fragments for TSWV, F. occidentalis, and F. intonsa were 777, 287, and 367 bp, respectively. These results showed species identification of thrips and whether thrips carrying TSWV can be simultaneously confirmed. Further usefulness of the simultaneous diagnostic method was made from greenhouse survey at chrysanthemum greenhouses in Taean (Chungcheongnam-do) and Changwon (Gyeongsangnam-do) to investigate the identification of thrips species and the rate of thrips carrying TSWV. Of thrips collected from the greenhouses, 83.7% thrips was F. occidentalis and 72.9% F. occidentalis carried TSWV in Taean. Similarly, the diagnostic method showed that 92.2% thrips was F. occidentalis and 84.0% F. occidentalis carried TSWV in Changwon. These results confirm that F. occidentalis is a dominant thrips species and the thrips species plays a crucial role in the transmission of TSWV in chrysanthemum plants in the greenhouses. Taken together, this study showed a simple diagnostic method for thrips identification and epidemiological studies of the timing and spread of TSWV through thrips in chrysanthemum greenhouses in South Korea.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.69-76
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• 2013

The incidence of globally infectious and pathogenic diseases such as H1N1 (swine flu) and Avian Influenza (AI) has recently increased. An infectious disease is a pathogen-caused disease, which can be passed from the infected person to the susceptible host. Pathogens of infectious diseases, which are bacillus, spirochaeta, rickettsia, virus, fungus, and parasite, etc., cause various symptoms such as respiratory disease, gastrointestinal disease, liver disease, and acute febrile illness. They can be spread through various means such as food, water, insect, breathing and contact with other persons. Recently, most countries around the world use a mathematical model to predict and prepare for the spread of infectious diseases. In a modern society, however, infectious diseases are spread in a fast and complicated manner because of rapid development of transportation (both ground and underground). Therefore, we do not have enough time to predict the fast spreading and complicated infectious diseases. Therefore, new system, which can prevent the spread of infectious diseases by predicting its pathway, needs to be developed. In this study, to solve this kind of problem, an integrated monitoring system, which can track and predict the pathway of infectious diseases for its realtime monitoring and control, is developed. This system is implemented based on the conventional mathematical model called by 'Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) Model.' The proposed model has characteristics that both inter- and intra-city modes of transportation to express interpersonal contact (i.e., migration flow) are considered. They include the means of transportation such as bus, train, car and airplane. Also, modified real data according to the geographical characteristics of Korea are employed to reflect realistic circumstances of possible disease spreading in Korea. We can predict where and when vaccination needs to be performed by parameters control in this model. The simulation includes several assumptions and scenarios. Using the data of Statistics Korea, five major cities, which are assumed to have the most population migration have been chosen; Seoul, Incheon (Incheon International Airport), Gangneung, Pyeongchang and Wonju. It was assumed that the cities were connected in one network, and infectious disease was spread through denoted transportation methods only. In terms of traffic volume, daily traffic volume was obtained from Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). In addition, the population of each city was acquired from Statistics Korea. Moreover, data on H1N1 (swine flu) were provided by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and air transport statistics were obtained from Aeronautical Information Portal System. As mentioned above, daily traffic volume, population statistics, H1N1 (swine flu) and air transport statistics data have been adjusted in consideration of the current conditions in Korea and several realistic assumptions and scenarios. Three scenarios (occurrence of H1N1 in Incheon International Airport, not-vaccinated in all cities and vaccinated in Seoul and Pyeongchang respectively) were simulated, and the number of days taken for the number of the infected to reach its peak and proportion of Infectious (I) were compared. According to the simulation, the number of days was the fastest in Seoul with 37 days and the slowest in Pyeongchang with 43 days when vaccination was not considered. In terms of the proportion of I, Seoul was the highest while Pyeongchang was the lowest. When they were vaccinated in Seoul, the number of days taken for the number of the infected to reach at its peak was the fastest in Seoul with 37 days and the slowest in Pyeongchang with 43 days. In terms of the proportion of I, Gangneung was the highest while Pyeongchang was the lowest. When they were vaccinated in Pyeongchang, the number of days was the fastest in Seoul with 37 days and the slowest in Pyeongchang with 43 days. In terms of the proportion of I, Gangneung was the highest while Pyeongchang was the lowest. Based on the results above, it has been confirmed that H1N1, upon the first occurrence, is proportionally spread by the traffic volume in each city. Because the infection pathway is different by the traffic volume in each city, therefore, it is possible to come up with a preventive measurement against infectious disease by tracking and predicting its pathway through the analysis of traffic volume.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.211-220
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• 2007

Red sea bream iridovirus disease (RSIVD) cause massive economic losses in marine aquaculture industry in Korea. The causative agent of this disease (RSIV) infects a wide range of fish species. The aims of this study were to monitor RSIV in wild marine fishes and to give critical information for controling the disease through prophylactic methods. Prevalence of the viral disease, geological distribution and reservoir of the virus were investigated using wild marine fishes captured in southern coast and east china sea for two years. (Polymerase Chain Reaction) PCR results showed that RSIV were detected in 39 (24.3%) out of 160 fish. MCP gene sequences of viral strains isolated in this study were closely related to that of a reference strain, red seabream-K, belonging to Megalocytivirus subgroup Ⅲ. The results suggest that some of wild marine fishes are RSIV carriers and may spread the pathogen directly to fish farmed in coastal area.