Radioactive materials were released into the ocean following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011. Six years after the accident, the radioactive material concentration was markedly increased in the Okhotsk Intermediate Water (OIW) of the Sea of Okhotsk. This material may have been subjected to southward subsurface dispersal by the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), which originates from the OIW.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSbSe, a quasi-1D structured binary chalcogenide, has great potential as a solar cell light absorber owing to its anisotropic carrier transport and benign grain boundaries when the absorber layer is properly aligned along the [1] direction perpendicular to the substrate. A growth technique with a high deposition rate, such as vapor transport deposition, is preferred to form an [1]-oriented SbSe film. However, the possible decomposition of SbSe during cooling after the high-temperature deposition appears to result in Se deficiency, accompanied by the formation of deep-level donor-like defects, such as Se vacancies and Sb on Se antisite defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnosing osteosarcoma (OS) is very challenging and OS is often misdiagnosed as osteomyelitis (OM) due to the nonspecificity of its symptoms upon initial presentation. This study investigated the possibility of detecting OS-induced trabecular bone changes on panoramic radiographs and differentiating OS from OM by analyzing fractal dimensions (FDs) and degrees of anisotropy (DAs). Panoramic radiographs of patients with histopathologically proven OS and OM of the jaw were obtained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnprecedented coastal upwelling off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula was reported during the summer of 2013. The upwelling continued for more than a month after a plunge in upwelling-favourable winds and had serious impacts on fisheries. This is a rare phenomenon, as most coastal upwelling events relax a few days after the wind weakens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Environ Virol
September 2018
The possible transport of pathogenic microorganisms during Asian dust events could be an important concern for health workers; however, this is still uncertain owing to a lack of supporting evidence. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in air samples collected during the Asian and non-Asian dust periods. Between March and September 2016, air samples were collected at three weather observation stations in Seoul using a high-volume air sampler.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLegionnaire's disease is associated with a high mortality rate. The authors collected 3,495 water samples in Seoul, Korea, between 2010 and 2012 from public facilities (cooling towers, public baths, hospitals, and decorative fountains), which are considered the major habitats of Legionella pneumophila. In all, 527 (15.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA total of 121 Campylobacter isolates from 4,788 humans with gastroenteritis were identified and characterized by biochemical detection methods, polymerase chain reaction, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). These samples were obtained during a 3-year period, from January 2007 to December 2009, using the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System at the Research Institute of Public Health and Environment in Seoul Metropolitan, Korea. Antimicrobial susceptibilities of the bacterium were also determined with the agar dilution method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study has determined the detection rate of norovirus (NoV) with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in hospitalized children and describes the molecular epidemiology of NoV circulating in Seoul, Korea. Six hundred and eighty-three (9.8%) of samples were positive for NoV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a very common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Nerve growth factor (NGF) may be involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. In this study, we investigated the effect of Korean red ginseng extract (KRGE) on the ovarian morphology and NGF expression in an estradiol valerate (EV)-induced rat model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA total of 66 Shigella sonnei isolates from 1999 to 2008 in Seoul was analyzed for their antimicrobial resistance, carriage of integron, and the patterns of Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). A high level of antimicrobial resistance to streptomycin (100%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (95%), tetracycline (94%), nalidixic acid (65%), and ampicillin (41%) was observed among S. sonnei isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella Enteritidis is the most common cause of salmonellosis in humans in South Korea. It has been recognized that the principal source of human infection with S. Enteritidis is chickens and their products such as meat and eggs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella contamination in chicken meat was studied with 100 chicken meat samples purchased from 55 shops located in various regions. A total of 21 isolates of Salmonella enterica were isolated from 21 chicken meat samples from four shops located at open markets, whereas there were none from supermarkets with well-equipped cold systems. Among these, 18 isolates were identified as Salmonella enterica serotype Haardt (S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is an important commensal microorganism. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiological relation between NTS isolates from livestock and NTS isolates from human by analyzing antimicrobial susceptibilities and performing molecular typing. We determined the serotypes of 36 human clinical isolates and 64 livestock isolates, performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing against 8 antibiotics, and determined the molecular types of isolated NTS spp.
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