• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.45-72
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• 2005

C. neoformans-associated cryptococcosis is primarily a disease of immunocompromised persons, has a world-wide distribution, and is often spread by pigeons in the urban environment. In contrast, C. gattii causes infection in normal hosts, has only been described in tropical and semi-tropical areas of the world, and has a unique niche in river gum Eucalyptus trees. Cryptococcosis is acquired through inhalation of the yeast propagules from the environment. C. gattii has been identified as the cause of an emerging infectious disease centered on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. No cases of C. gattii-disease were diagnosed prior to 1999; the current incidence rate is 36 cases per million population. A search was initiated in 2001 to find the ecological niche of this basidiomycetous yeast. C. gaftii was found in the environment in treed areas of Vancouver Island. The highest percentage of colonized-tree clusters were found around central Vancouver Island, with decreasing rates of colonization to the north and south. Climate, soil and vegetation cover of this area, called the Coastal Douglas fir biogeoclimatic zone, is unique to British Columbia and Canada. The concentration of airborne C. gattii was highest in the dry summer months, and lowest during late fall, winter, and early spring, months which have heavy rainfall. The study of the emerging colonization of this organism and subsequent cases of environmentally acquired disease will be informative in planning public health management of new routes of exposure to exotic agents in areas impacted by changing climate and land use patterns. Cryptococcosis is an infection associated with an encapsulated, basidiomycetous yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. The route of entry for this organism is through the lungs, with possible systemic spread via the circulatory system to the brain and meninges. There are four cryptococcal serogroups associated with disease in humans and animals, distinguished by capsular polysaccharide antigens. Cryptococcus neoformans: variety grubii (serotype A), variety neoformans (serotype D), and variety gattii (serotypes B and C) (Franzot et at. 1999). C. neoformans variety gattii has recently been elevated to species status, C. gattii. C. neoformans val. grubii and var. neoformans have a world-wide distribution, and are particularly associated with soil and weathered bird droppings. In contrast, C. gattii (CG) is not associated with bird excrement, is primarily found in tropical and subtropical climates, and has a restricted environmental niche associated with specific tree species. (Ellis & Pfiffer 1990) Ellis and Pfeiffer theorize that, as a basidiomycete, CG requires an association with a tree in order to become pathogenic to mammals. In Australia, CG has been found to be associated with five species of Eucalypts, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. tereticornis, E. blakelyi, E. gomphocephala, and E. rudis. Eucalypts, although originally native to Australia, now have a world-wide distribution. CG has been found associated with imported eucalypts in India, California, Brazil, and Egypt. In addition, in Brazil and Columbia, where eucalypts have been naturalized, native trees have been shown to harbour CG (Callejas et al. 1998; Montenegro et al. 2000). In British Columbia, Canada, since the beginning of 1999, there have been 120 confirmed cases of cryptococcal mycoses associated with CG in humans, including 4 fatalities (data from British Columbia Centre for Disease Control), and over 200 cases in animal pets in BC (data from Central Laboratory for Veterinarians). What is remarkable about the BC outbreak of C. gattii-cryptococcosis is that all of the cases have been residents of, or visitors to, a narrow area along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, BC, from the tip of the island in the south (Victoria) to Courtenay on the north-central island as illustrated in Figure 1. Of the first 38 human cases, 58% were male with a mean age of 59.7 years (range 20 - 82): 36 cases (95%) were Caucasian. Ten cases (26%) presented with meningitis, the remainder presented with respiratory symptoms. Cultures recovered from cases of cryptococcosis associated with the outbreak were typed as serogroup B, which is specific to CG (Bartlett et al. 2003). This was the first reported outbreak of CVG in Canada, or indeed, the world. Where infection with CG is endemic, for example, Australia, the incidence of cryptococcosis ranges from 1.8 - 4.7 per million between the southern and northern states (Sorrell 2001). However, the overall incidence of cryptococcosis in immunocompenent individuals has been estimated at 0.2 per million population per year (Kwon-Chung et al. 1984). The population of Vancouver Island is approximately 720,000,consequently, even if the organism were endemic, one would expect a maximum of 0.15 cases of cryptococcal disease annually.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 2015

Porcine salmonellosis is an economically important disease affecting the global pig industry today. Salmonella (S.) Typhimurium is highly contagious and may rapidly spread within pig populations of herd. To investigate the prevalence of porcine salmonellosis in Jeju, a total of 12,885 blood sera of 96 pig farms from 2009 to 2012 were analyzed by microplate agglutination test. Antibodies to S. Typhimurium were detected in all of pig farms tested in Jeju Province, and the mean of seropositive rate of individual pig was 18.8%. The mean seropositive rate of S. Typhimurium in sows (46.7%) was 7 times higher than that of weaned or growing pigs (6.7%). The lowest seropositive rate (3.0%) was detected in 40 day-old pigs, and this result might be closely associated with the marked decrease of maternal passive immunity. The seropositive rate in winter (42.7%) was higher than in other seasons.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to research the effect of bloodletting therapy and Alunitum-spread at palatine tonsil in acute tonsillitis. Methods : We reviewed medical records of 61 young patients of acute tonsillitis who had taken bloodletting therapy and Alunitum-spread from May 2003 to March 2011 in Samsung oriental medicine clinic. Results : There were 39 boys and 22 girls. Between 5 and 6 years-old group was more than the others. Between 3 and 4 days group was the first in duration of disease. Winter was the first and then spring, fall and summer in distribution of season. Between 9 and 10 days group was 22 patients, which was the first in duration of treatment. it was the first to have no history of acute tonsilitis group, and then cold, allergic rhinitis, laryngopharyngitis, acute tonsillitis and tympanitis. There were 41 patients who came to Samsung oriental medicine clinic the first and then western clinic, home remedy and other oriental clinic. Sore throat was the first sympton and then runny nose, high fever, nasal congestion and cough in companied symptom. Conclusions : Bloodletting therapy and Alunitum-spread were useful to improve acute tonsillitis.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.55-65
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• 2012

In the winter season, when the ventilation system is operating, the fresh cold air from the slot-type openings of broiler house which directly reached the animal zone can cause various problems such as thermal stress, decreasing of feed and water consumption, occurrence of respiratory disease, and etc. Therefore it is very important to control the trajectory of aero-flow from the slot openings to induce an efficient thermal heat change. Jet-drop distance model was proposed to predict and control the jet-trajectory. However their study was restricted due to the small scaled model and difficulties of measuring the Jet-drop distance. In this study, CFD was applied to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the jet-drop distance in a real broiler house. The various variables were considered such as installed slot-angle, designed ventilation rate, and the outdoor ambient temperature. From the present study, two linear-regression models using the Jet-drop factor and corrected Archimedes number, and their R-squared values 0.744 and 0.736, respectively, were used. From this study, the applicability of CFD on the analysis of Jet-drop distance model was confirmed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2003

Influenza virus is a major cause of respiratory infection in the epidemic season. Especially, the elderly with underlying health problems are at increased risk for complications of influenza. The objective of this study was to investigate that influenza vaccination can reduce the hospital admission rate related to the respiratory diseases. This study was a retrospective study of two age groups, who are the healthy children aged 6 months to 9 years (n=237) and the adults aged over 20 years with respiratory disease (n=327). The vaccinated groups were compared to the controls that were matched in sex and age. The children were vaccinated in winter season of 1995-96 and the adults were vaccinated in 1996-97. The efficacy of influenza vaccine was evaluated with the number of outpatient visits in children group, the admission rate and the mean admission days in both children and adult group. As results, there were not significant differences between the vaccinated and the control group of children. In the elderly over 61 years, however, the influenza vaccination can reduce the admission rate $(8.9\%\;vs.\;25.6\%,\;p<0.05)$ and the mean admission days (1.3 vs. 3.8 days, p<0.05) compared to the control. In conclusion, influenza vaccination can effectively reduce the events related to respiratory infection in the elderly than the children. The elderly should be recommended for influenza vaccination.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.446-450
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• 2013

The ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum is a major causal agent for Fusarium head blight in cereals and produces mycotoxins such as trichothecenes and zearalenone. Isolation of the fungal strains from air or cereals can be hampered by various other airborne fungal pathogens and saprophytic fungi. In this study, we developed a selective medium specific to F. graminearum using toxoflavin produced by the bacterial pathogen Burkholderia glumae. F. graminearum was resistant to toxoflavin, while other fungi were sensitive to this toxin. Supplementing toxoflavin into medium enhanced the isolation of F. graminearum from rice grains by suppressing the growth of saprophytic fungal species. In addition, a medium with or without toxoflavin exposed to wheat fields for 1 h had 84% or 25%, respectively, of colonies identified as F. graminearum. This selection medium provides an efficient tool for isolating F. graminearum, and can be adopted by research groups working on genetics and disease forecasting.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.428-434
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• 2012

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease showing a symptom of repeated seizures without any other physical disorders. Among the diagnostic examination for epilepsy, the electroencephalogram (EEG) has been known as an important test. This study aimed to investigate the EEG with photic stimulation in the pediatric epilepsy patients. They underwent digital sleep and waking EEGs or waking EEGs with photic stimulation. Epilepsy type, seizure history, and season of occurring seizure were analyzed. Epilepsy patients showed more response during the period of photic-on and eye close at the frequency of 10~20 Hz during the EEG activation procedure. Photoparoxysmal response (PPR) was shown in 206 patients out of total 1,551 epilepsy patients. PPR was appeared more frequently during summer and winter seasons, and especially in the patients who had a history of seizure. During the PPR, EEG pattern showed spike (77.18%), theta (9.71%), and spike + theta (13.11%). On the other hand, beta and theta waves were not significantly changed by photic stimulation. However, alpha wave was decreased and delta wave was increased by photic stimulation (P<0.05). These changes may be due to temporarily altered electrophysiological function of the epileptic patient's brain by the photic stimulation. There was no difference in the EEG pattern between the left and right side in the brain. In conclusion, condition of photic-on with closed eyes and frequency of 10~20 Hz during the procedure of EEG activation could be appropriate for obtaining a definite photoparoxysmal response in the electroencephalogram of the pediatric epilepsy patients.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.161-164
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• 2017

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the most important diseases in calves. It causes a huge economic loss in farms. BRD in calves is concentrated during winter because of the cold weather and lack of ventilation. However, BRD during summer in calves has continuously been a problem in farms. But there is no study about pathogens of summer pneumonia in calves and antimicrobial susceptibility in Korea. Therefore, aims of this study were to identify the pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility in calves with summer pneumonia. One hundred and one calves (2 weeks to 5 months after birth) with clinical sign of BRD from 5 farms were selected. After sampling by deep nasal swab, bacterial isolation and identification was conducted. Also, antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed. Pasteurella spp (49.4%), Staphylococcus spp (21.5%), Actinomyces spp (12.9%), E coli (10.7%), and Mannheimia haemolytica (5.3%) were isolated. The patterns of isolated pathogens from each farm were various. Also, the susceptibility of bacteria to antibiotics was showed a variety of patterns in each farm.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2014

Respiratory diseases are common in swine industry and have great economic importance. Respiratory disorders cause substantial losses to the swine industry. Losses associated with respiratory disease vary considerably between herds and seasons. In a survey was carry out to investigate the lesion of red internal organs in slaughtered pigs and provided assistant data which are useful for each farm. From november 2012 to december 2013, 1,680 pigs out of 84 farms were sampled in Jeonbuk province. Gross lesions such as swine enzootic pneumonia (SEP), pleuritis, pleuropneumonia, pericarditis, liver milk spot were examined for the pigs. Overall prevalence of SEP was 55.7%. According to season, the incidence occurred higher in fall than winter, spring, and summer. The mean SEP score was 0.91, the highest incidence occurred in fall. The prevalence of pleuropneumonia, pleuritis, pericarditis, and milk spot was 36.4%, 49.7%, 2.3%, and 8.8%, respectively. The positive rate of PRRS and PCV2 was 2.9% and 70.0% by PCR analysis.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2001

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) has been a major disease causing a severe loss of yield in winter cereals worldwide. It has been recently reported that BYDV occurs frequently in wheat field and also causes serious yield reduction in Korea. This study was performed to investigate the regional distributions of BYDV strains in Korea and to identify the resistant cultivars or lines of wheat to the predominant BYDV strains, providing basic information for the breeding of BYDV-resistant wheat varieties. Using RT-PCR and EcoRI digestion methods, the regional distribution of BYDV strains in Korea from 1999 to 2000 showed that PAV strain was mainly detected about 65% (Vic-PAV 52.6% ; CN-PAV 47.4%) and MAV strain about 3%. Using ELISA test for the examination of BYDV resistance with 17 cultivars and 4 lines among Korean wheat, three cultivars, Gurumil, Topdongmil, and Olgurumil, were susceptible to BYDV and the others were resistant. In plant growth and yield component responses to BYDV infection, Gurumil showed significant difference between the uninfected and the infected, suggesting the most susceptible to BYDV among Korean wheat, but Eun-pamil and Seohae118 did no difference, an indication that they have the highest resistance.