Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used in pathogen surveillance for microorganisms at the community level. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence and trends of infectious pathogens in sewage from Yongin city and the relationships between these pathogens and the incidence of infectious diseases in the community. From December 2022 to November 2023, we collected inflow water from six wastewater treatment plants in Yongin city twice a month.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Salivary cortisol reflects the biologically active form of serum cortisol, offering a noninvasive evaluation method for the diurnal rhythm of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. While liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is known for its specificity, immunoassays (IA) are commonly used because of their simplicity. This study aimed to assess the performance of salivary cortisol measurement using both IA and LC-MS/MS in comparison to serum-free cortisol measurement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has emerged the gut microbiome is crucially linked to metabolic health and obesity. Macronutrient distribution has been discussed as a key parameter in weight-loss programs, but little is known about its impact on the gut microbiome. We investigated the effects of weight-loss meal replacement programs with different macronutrient ratios on the gut microbiota and metabolic parameters in subjects with overweight and obesity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing has demonstrated great potential for early cancer detection. However, most large-scale studies have focused only on either targeted methylation sites or whole-genome sequencing, limiting comprehensive analysis that integrates both epigenetic and genetic signatures. In this study, we present a platform that enables simultaneous analysis of whole-genome methylation, copy number, and fragmentomic patterns of cfDNA in a single assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are reportedly associated with repeated abortion. Thus, genetic analysis based on race is the key to developing accurate diagnostic tests. This study analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients among Korean women compared to the controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is a complex condition of metabolic disorders and shows a steady onset globally. Ceramides are known as intracellular signaling molecules that influence key metabolism through various pathways such as MetS and insulin resistance. Therefore, it is important to identify novel genetic factors related to increased plasma ceramides in subjects with MetS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions associated with glucose intolerance, hypertension, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Since MetS is known as a complex symptom with a high incidence of genetic factors, it is important to identify genetic variants for each clinical characteristic of MetS.
Methods: We performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify genetic variants related to obesity, blood glucose, triacylglycerol (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level, and hypertension in 48 subjects with MetS and in 48 healthy subjects.
Background: During puberty, changes in body composition due to sex hormones are associated with lung mechanics. However, little is known about the mediation effect of sex differences in body composition during puberty with total airway resistance.
Methods: We prospectively recruited 620 children (10-12 years old) from the general population and conducted a cross-sectional study.
Background: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are common infectious diseases in humans transmitted through unprotected sexual activities. In South Korea, despite the high annual incidence of STDs, detailed examinations of pathogen-specific factors and causes for delays in diagnosis and treatment are still lacking. Furthermore, STD prevalence patterns and important pathogen-specific factors remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe spike (S) protein mutations of SARS-CoV-2 are of major concern in terms of viral transmission and pathogenesis. Hence, we developed a PCR-based method to rapidly detect the 6 mutational hotspots (H49Y, G476S, V483A, H519Q, A520S, and D614G) in the S protein and applied this method to analyze the hotspots in the viral isolates from different geographical origins. Here, we identified that there was only the D614G mutation in the viral isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommercially available reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kits are being used as an important tool to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection in clinical laboratories worldwide. However, some kits lack sufficient clinical evaluation due to the need for emergency use caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Here we found that a novel insertion/deletion mutation in the nucleocapsid (N) gene of SARS-CoV-2 samples is a cause of negative results for the N gene in a widely used assay that received emergency use authorization (EUA) from US FDA and Conformite Europeenne-in vitro diagnostics (CE-IVD) from EU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum and urinary nephrin levels of normal pregnancy to establish a standard reference value and to compare them with patients who subsequently developed preeclampsia (PE).
Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, 117 healthy singleton pregnancies were enrolled between 6 to 20 weeks of gestation at 2 participating medical centers during October 2010 to March 2012. Urine and serum samples were collected at the time of enrollment, each trimester, and at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum.
Background: Total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is well-known to be a reliable biomarker of human vitamin D status, with the recognition of widespread vitamin D insufficiency in general populations. The aims of this study are to validate a fast and simple liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for quantifying 25(OH)D and 25(OH)D in serum and to compare two automated immunoassays with the LC-MS/MS method.
Methods: Samples were prepared by protein precipitation with ethanol including 25(OH)D-d, followed by a liquid-liquid extraction with hexane.
A fast, sensitive, and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was validated and then the levels of cortisol and cortisone from sera of healthy adults were determined by the LC-MS/MS method. One hundred μ L of serum sample was directly extracted by adding 2 mL ethyl acetate, followed by chromatographic separation on a C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 5 mM ammonium acetate and methanol (25 : 75, v/v). The precision, accuracy, and average recovery of the method were 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cyclic β-glucans and succinoglycans produced by rhizobia are required for nodulation during symbiosis with legume hosts. However, only gene deletion analyses have been used to investigate their biological importance. For future studies on the physiological activity of those during symbiosis, biochemical methods need to be developed with separate carbohydrate compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
February 2013
Objective: To compare the levels of urinary excretion of nephrin in women experiencing either normotensive or severe preeclamptic pregnancies, and to examine the relationship between urinary nephrin levels and clinical parameters of preeclampsia.
Study Design: In a case control study we collected serum and urine specimens from women with normal pregnancy (n=30) and from women with severe preeclampsia (n=43). Serum nephrin levels and urinary nephrin concentrations were measured in all patients.
Low-molecular-weight (LMW) succinoglycans (monomers, dimers, and trimers) were isolated from Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 and have been firstly investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone (THAP) as an optimal matrix in the negative ion mode. The main fractions of LMW succinoglycans contain molecules assembled of octasaccharide subunits. MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the LMW succinoglycan monomers, the dimers, and the trimers showed the daughter ions resulting from the losses of the terminal galactose residues at the reducing ends, clearly indicating that the galactosyl linkages are more labile than the other glucosyl linkages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalivary testosterone levels in Korean adults were quantitatively measured for the first time by liquid chromatography-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry (LC ESI MS/MS). Salivary testosterone was separated on a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) chromatogram within 7 min. The LC ESI MS/MS assay was validated over the linearity range of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe levels of salivary cortisol and cortisone in Korean adults were measured for the first time using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The salivary cortisol and cortisone were separated within 10 min. The regression coefficients (r) of the calibration curves were greater than 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeriplasmic glucans (PGs) are general constituents in the periplasmic space of Proteobacteria. PGs from bacterial strains are found in larger amounts during growth on medium with low osmolarity and thus are often been specified as osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs). Furthermore, they appear to play crucial roles in pathogenesis and symbiosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShinorhizobial cyclosophoraose (cyclic beta-(1-->2)-glucan) or succinoglycan monomer (SGM 2), which has one acetyl, pyruvyl, and succinyl group, functions as a morphology-directing agent for the synthesis of pure trigonal selenium nanowires by using ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as the reducing agent. The synthesis was achieved in water at room temperature. Under these experimental conditions, the diameters of the as-prepared Se nanowires were varied in the range of 34-120 nm by cyclosophoraose and of 33-66 nm by SGM 2, in which the nanowires were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuccinoglycan monomers (M1, M2, and M3) are octasaccharides with acetyl, pyruvyl, and/or succinyl groups as substituents derived from Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021. The dissociation patterns of the octasaccharides caused by low-energy collision-activated dissociation (CAD) were investigated using triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (MS) equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source with increasing collision energy (CE) in negative ion mode. None of the succinoglycan monomers were fragmented at a CE of -25eV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommercially available polysaccharides, agarose and gellan, were used as morphology-directing agents for the synthesis of t-Se nanowires in water at room temperature in the presence of ascorbic acid as reducing agent. The nanostructures were characterized using XRD, SEM, and TEM. The diameter of the nanowires varied from 100 to 208 nm for nanowires obtained in the presence of agarose and from 51 to 145 nm for nanowires from gellan, as evidenced by SEM and TEM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZooglan, a weakly acidic exopolysaccharide produced by Zoogloea ramigera 115, catalyzed the preferential methanolysis of phospatidylcholine compared to other phospholipids when the reaction was carried out in pure methanol at 30 degrees C. The reaction was monitored by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) as well as (1)H and (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry. Zooglan enhanced the rate of methanolysis of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) up to about 170-fold compared to controls such as DPPC alone, pyruvic acid, succinic acid and acetic acid.
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