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Objective LIA-ANA-Profile-17S is a multiplex line immunoassay that simultaneously detects 17 antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) against extractable nuclear antigens (ENAs). We evaluated the utility of LIA-ANA-Profile-17S as a supplement to ANA indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and EliA ENA (a fluorescence enzyme immunoassay) for diagnosis of ANA-associated rheumatic diseases. Methods Sera were collected from 245 patients referred for an ANA IIF test. LIA-ANA-Profile-17S results were compared with those of EliA ENA. The kappa coefficients, agreement rates, and diagnostic performance of these tests were assessed for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS). Results We observed almost perfect interassay agreement for antibodies against Ro52/Ro60, CENP-B, and Scl-70 (kappa = 0.91, 0.97, and 1.00, respectively); strong agreement for anti-SS-B/La antibody (kappa = 0.81); and relatively low agreement for other antibodies, including those against dsDNA, Sm, RNP, and Jo-1. For SLE diagnosis, LIA-ANA-Profile-17S showed lower sensitivity and similar specificity compared with EliA ENA. The sensitivity and specificity of these two assays were similar for SjS diagnosis. Conclusions The specificity of LIA-ANA-Profile-17S was enhanced when combined with ANA IIF and was comparable with that of EliA ENA. LIA-ANA-Profile-17S showed relatively good agreement with EliA ENA. In combination with ANA IIF, these assays showed enhanced diagnostic performance.

(1-3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) is a major biomarker of invasive fungal diseases (IFDs), which are life-threatening for immunodeficient patients. We compared the clinical performance of two BDG-detection assays. The precision, linearity, reference interval, and limit of quantitation of the Wako BDG assay were analyzed and the performance was compared with that of the Goldstream BDG assay using 272 clinical serum samples. The repeatability, within-laboratory imprecision, and limit of quantitation of the Wako BDG assay were 3.8%, 5.9%, and 7.35 pg/mL, respectively (linearity, 23.8–557 pg/mL; R2 = 0.998). The correlation coefficient, slope, and y-intercept for the Wako BDG assay versus Goldstream BDG assay were 0.29, 3.82, and 0.04, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 43.8% and 94.9% for the Wako BDG assay and 39.6% and 83.5% for the Goldstream BDG assay, respectively. In clinical settings, the Wako BDG assay is suitable for diagnosing patients with IFDs.

The relation between high-frequency broadband acoustic signal variability and two types of internal waves (short-period internal solitary waves; ISWs, and semidiurnal internal tides; ITs) is investigated using data collected during the shallow-water acoustic variability experiment 2015 in the northeastern East China Sea. In this flat (∼100 m depth) region, an underwater sound channel with sound speed profile (SSP) variability observed during the experiment significantly affects the acoustic variability induced by the ISW, and the arrival structure of the channel impulse response (CIR) modeled by ray tracing. To model the range-dependent SSP due to ISW, the location and characteristics of the mode-1 ISW of wavelength (0.5–1 km) are estimated and verified based on the two-layer Korteweq–de Vries theory and by analyzing the observed temperature fluctuations. It is found from comparison between the measured and modeled CIRs that the ISW scatters the arrival structures of refracted rays. Meanwhile, semidiurnal ITs change the channel size modeled as range-independent considering the wavelengths (15–40 km) longer than the model range (3 km). Higher centroid of acoustic arrival time is found with lower isotherm depressions owing to the multimode ITs, indicative of acoustic energy focusing at the lower channel region.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) nucleic acid amplification testing is important for CMV infection diagnosis and management. CMV DNA is found in plasma and various other fluids, including urine. If CMV can be reliably detected in urine, it may be considered a non-invasive alternative to blood tests. The cobas 6800 system (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) is a Food and Drug Administration-approved testing platform for measuring CMV DNA in plasma.To evaluate the analytical performance of the cobas 6800 system and compare the clinical feasibility of CMV detection in plasma and urine samples.Imprecision, linearity, limit of quantitation (LOQ), and cross-reactivity of the cobas 6800 system were assessed, and reference interval verification was performed. Plasma CMV DNA quantification was compared to CMV DNA values in urine samples obtained from 129 pediatric patients (18 years of age) from March 2020 to May 2020 at a tertiary hospital.The assay precision was within the acceptable range. Linearity was observed within the tested concentration range (2.36-6.33 log IU/mL) with a coefficient of determination of 0.9972. The LOQ was 34.5 IU/mL. The assay did not show cross-reactivity with 15 other viruses. Plasma and urine detection results were stratified into three categories: negative,LOQ, and positive to analyze the degree of agreement with the results. The quadratic weighted kappa value was 0.623 (P = 0.000), showing substantial concurrence.The cobas 6800 system offers good sensitivity, precision, and linearity and is suitable for monitoring CMV viral loads in the plasma and urine samples.

The prediction of underwater noise emissions from impact pile driving during near-shore and offshore construction activities and its potential effect on the marine environment has been a major field of research for several years. A number of different modeling approaches have been suggested recently to predict the radiated sound pressure at different distances and depths from a driven pile. As there are no closed-form analytical solutions for this complex class of problems and for a lack of publicly available measurement data, the need for a benchmark case arises to compare the different approaches. Such a benchmark case was set up by the Institute of Modelling and Computation, Hamburg University of Technology (Hamburg, Germany) and the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO, The Hague, The Netherlands). Research groups from all over the world, who are involved in modeling sound emissions from offshore pile driving, were invited to contribute to the first so-called COMPILE (a portmanteau combining computation, comparison, and pile) workshop in Hamburg in June 2014. In this paper, the benchmark case is presented, alongside an overview of the seven models and the associated results contributed by the research groups from six different countries. The modeling results from the workshop are discussed, exhibiting a remarkable consistency in the provided levels out to several tens of kilometers. Additionally, possible future benchmark case extensions are proposed.

In this paper, we developed a racing game using 4D motion seat and HMD in 3D virtual reality. Also, we investigated the user feeling and immersion in virtual reality when using HMD through user participation. At the same time, in order to know the cybersickness reduction effect of 4D motion seat, analyzed the degree of cybersickness and the causes of cybersickness according to the type of user. The results show that when synchronizing the visual image transmitted via HMD with the input delivered via the sensory organs using the motion platform, the user can immerse more deeply into virtual reality and reduce cybersickness.

Aquifer recharge and recovery is a technology used to ensure a stable supply of clean water. During the process, river water is injected into a soil aquifer and stored. The stored water is then recovered and used to produce drinking water. It is important to understand quality improvement of the injected water while it is stored in the aquifer. In the present study, a lab-scale column reactor containing saturated-zone soil was employed to mimic an aquifer. The reactor was used to investigate microbial removal of nitrate that is a major inorganic contaminant detected in the Nakdong River. The reactor was introduced with river water that contained nitrate at concentrations (5.07, 6.81, 8.27, and 11.07 mg NO3 /l) detected downstream of the Nakdong River in the past 2 years. The nitrate concentrations decreased during the introduced water is retained in the reactor. Effluent from the reactor contained 1.49 mg NO3 /l or less and had an average pH of 7.98 regardless of the nitrate concentrations of the influent. However abiotic control reactor showed similar nitrate-concentrations in its influent and effluent. Considering the result of abiotic control, the decreased nitrate concentration observed in the test column suggested that microorganisms in saturated-zone soil removed nitrate in the river water introduced into the reactor. Results of this study will be used to better understand microbial improvement of water quality in aquifer recharge and recovery technology.

The relation between the tidal current and the acoustic signal measured at vertical line arrays (VLAs) is investigated from data of the shallow-water acoustic variability experiment 2015 performed in the northeastern East China Sea. From the channel impulse response, the arrival structure measured on the VLA was observed to vary with semidiurnal tidal period. To explain this phenomenon, the direction of the array tilt is assumed to be consistent with the current flow direction. The modeling results based on ray tracing prove the relation between the variation of the arrival structure and array tilt angle in a time-varying form, yielding an estimation of tidal currents in the region. We compared the projected time series of horizontal currents to the acoustic paths with the curvature variation in the arrival structure to validate our results and confirmed that they are consistent with each other.

External quality assessment (EQA) requires stable quality control (QC) materials. We evaluated the stability of QC materials made of lyophilized and liquid pooled sera for the tumor markers α-fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 125, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9.Specimens of the 4 tumor markers were collected from the sera of patients and stored at -20°C. After sera collection and pooling, liquid or lyophilized samples were stored at -20°C, 5°C, or room temperature. Tumor markers were quantified on days 0, 1, 4, 7, 14, 30, and 90 of storage. Internal QC results were analyzed, and the effects of heat inactivation and sucrose addition were assessed.Heat inactivation lowered tumor marker levels in lyophilized pooled sera, whereas sucrose addition had no effect. The coefficients of variation of the internal QC results were stable, whereas those of lyophilized samples were higher than those of liquid samples. Tumor marker levels were significantly lower in lyophilized samples (p0.05) and did not significantly differ according to storage temperature. A declining trend over time was observed for all tumor markers.Lyophilized QC materials are insufficiently stable for use in EQA among clinical laboratories.

An analog maximum power point tracking (MPPT) circuit for a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is proposed. We show that the peak point of the voltage conversion gain of a boost DC–DC converter with an input voltage source having an internal resistor is the maximum power point of the TEG. The key characteristic of the proposed MPPT controller is that the duty ratio of the input clock pulse to the boost DC–DC converter shifts toward the maximum power point of the TEG by seeking the peak gain point of the boost DC–DC converters. The proposed MPPT technique provides a simple and useful analog MPPT solution, without employing digital microcontroller units.

The effect of nonlinear internal wave on reverberation is investigated for the shallow water region having an underwater sound channel, which was observed during SAVEX15 experiment. When source is located near the channel axis, the reverberation from rough bottom is insignificant because of trapped modes not interacting with the bottom. However, when a nonlinear internal wave is present, the reverberation level increases since trapped modes transfer to bottom interacting modes due to sound fluctuation by the nonlinear internal wave. This trend can be explained by the coupled mode equation [(2014). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 135, 610-625]. To theoretically describe the increase of bottom reverberation, we simplify the situation where two modes are present; one is a trapped mode and the other is bottom interacting mode. In the situation, the trapped mode transfers to the bottom interacting mode after its encounter with the nonlinear internal wave. The bottom reverberation has different patterns and levels before a...

Reverberation level (RL) is modeled in a shallow water environment with an underwater sound channel and internal solitary wave (ISW) using the coupled mode method. Numerical RL result based on one-way coupled mode shows an abnormal increase when a source is located near the channel axis and the ISW is located far from the source. The abnormal increase is analyzed by using a two-mode approach (assuming a trapped mode and a bottom interacting mode). The two-mode approach explains the relation between the RL increase and the ISW location explicitly: the ISW transfers trapped mode energy to bottom interacting mode energy, and its increasing rate is a function of its modal attenuation and ISW location from the source. The sensitivity test according to several ISW parameters is also performed.

As indicators of obesity, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and adiponectin are well-known risk factors for diabetes mellitus. The objectives of this study were to measure the independent association between these obesity indicators and diabetes and to examine the combined effect of these indicators on diabetes in a Korean population. The WC, BMI, and serum adiponectin were measured in 4459 healthy Koreans and were classified into tertile groups for men and women. The independent and combined associations of the obesity indicators with diabetes were measured using logistic regression analyses. Diabetes was defined as fasting serum glucose greater than 126 mg/dL or taking medication. Levels of adiponectin were inversely associated with BMI and WC and directly associated with age and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P < .001). After adjusting for age, BMI, WC, and other lifestyle factors, low levels of adiponectin were associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. Further adjustment for HDL cholesterol and triglyceride attenuated this association in women but not men. The combined effects of WC and adiponectin on diabetes progressively increased; however, the interaction of these 2 variables was not statistically significant. The combined effect of BMI and adiponectin on diabetes showed similar results. These results suggest that adiponectin was associated with diabetes. The association was independent of BMI and WC and was partly modified by HDL and triglyceride. There were no effect modifications of adiponectin with WC and BMI on diabetes.

This paper describes an energy harvester which uses triboelectric and piezoelectric effect simultaneously to harvest the mechanical energy. The vertical vibration is converted into horizontal force through the hinge structure to apply stress on woven piezoelectric films. In addition, the vertical motion induces the triboelectric energy generation due to the contact between top plate and woven structures. The nano structured metal and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces were used to enhance the triboelectric effect. The maximum output voltage of 24 Vp-p and 291 Vp-p was simultaneously obtained from the triboelectric and piezoelectric effects, respectively, during the device operation at 9Hz.

This cohort study of Koreans examines the relationship between smoking on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and whether serum levels of total cholesterol modify the impact of smoking on ASCVD. A 10-year prospective cohort study was carried out on 234,399 Korean women, ranging 40-69 years of age who received health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation and had a medical evaluation in 1993. The main outcome measures were hospital admissions and deaths from ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and total ASCVD. At baseline, 13,696 (5.8%) were current smokers and 105,755 (45.1%) had a total cholesterol

The authors conducted a 10-year prospective cohort study of mortality in relation to white blood cell counts of 437,454 Koreans, aged 40–95 years, who received health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation and were medically evaluated in 1993 or 1995, with white blood cell measurement. The main outcome measures were mortality from all causes, all cancers, and all atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD). Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for age and potential confounders. During follow-up, 48,757 deaths occurred, with 15,507 deaths from cancer and 11,676 from ASCVD. For men and women, white blood cell count was associated with all-cause mortality and ASCVD mortality but not with cancer mortality. In healthy nonsmokers, a graded association between a higher white blood cell count and a higher risk of ASCVD was observed in men (highest vs. lowest quintile: hazard ratio ¼ 2.10, 95% confidence interval: 1.50, 2.94) and in women (hazard ratio ¼ 1.35, 95% confidence interval: 1.17, 1.56). In healthy smokers, a graded association between a higher white blood cell count and a higher risk of ASCVD was also observed in men (highest vs. lowest quintile: hazard ratio ¼ 1.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.25, 1.72). These findings indicate that the white blood cell count is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality and for ASCVD mortality. arteriosclerosis; cardiovascular diseases; death; leukocytes; neoplasms

Synthetic transmit aperture focusing (STAF) has the problem of high computational complexity. An STAF scheme with greatly reduced computational complexity by using an optimal periodic sparse receive array (SRA) is proposed. An analytic method to design optimal SRAs that provide minimum main lobe width and grating lobe levels for a given number of active receive elements is also suggested. The experiment results show that the proposed STAF method can reduce computational complexity by up to 66.67% compared with conventional STAF.

Relation between depth direction acoustic energy and sound speed fluctuation caused by internal wave activity observed during SAVEX15 experiment is investigated. In the SAVEX15 region (northern East China Sea with water depths around 100 m), underwater sound channel was observed during May 2015 along with extensive internal wave activities. When the source is near the sound channel axis, most of the acoustic energy is trapped in the channel. However, internal waves change the sound speed profile, which results in spreading the acoustic energy over depth. Measured data during the experiment is used to investigate the relation between acoustic energy structure and internal wave activity. Parameters reflecting their variabilities are defined. Two main parameters are standard deviation of the acoustic energy integrated over depth and the sound speed gradient at the channel axis, which reflects the internal wave activity. The correlation of two parameters is used to show the effect of internal waves on the cha...

Acoustic channel impulse responses (CIRs) consisting of multiple arrivals are extracted from the measured data during SAVEX15 experiment (conducted in the northern East China Sea during May 2015) using compressive sensing, providing high-resolution results due to sparsity promoting objective function. Performance of grid-based compressive channel estimation degrades when basis mismatch occurs because delays of the arrivals do not correspond to delays on the grid. To overcome this, grid-free compressive channel estimation is derived from the formulation of grid-free compressive beamforming [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 137, 1923-1935 (2015)]. The grid-free compressive channel estimation is applied to signals from SAVEX15; the signals were transmitted from a towed source and received at two separate vertical line arrays (16 elements each); they are used to measure the signals traveling through waveguides. Acoustic structures are observed clearly due to high-resolution CIRs along depth, which are varied by the moving...

Proposed is a helical piezoelectric structure for a highly stretchable energy harvester to be applied on the human body. The proposed device consists of two counter-wound helical structures around a zcore structure made of an elastic fabric string. The inner fabric helix is used to separate the outer piezoelectric helix from the core to obtain a highly stretchable device. When stretched by 60% of its initial length, the device generates a maximum output voltage and power of 140 Vp-p and 0.6 mW, respectively, at an operation frequency of 4 Hz.

The Republic of Korea has proposed and designed a helium cooled molten lithium (HCML) test blanket module (TBM) to be tested in the ITER. Ferritic Martensitic Steel (FMS) and beryllium are designed to be used as structural material and armor for the TBM first wall (FW) in this design, respectively. In order to develop the fabrication method for the TBM FW, the joining methods of FMS to FMS and Be to FMS have been developed with hot istotatic pressing (HIP). For joining FMS to FMS, mock-ups were fabricated with an HIP (1050 °C, 100 MPa, 2 hours). For joining Be to FMS, two mock-ups were fabricated with the same method (580 °C, 100 MPa, 2 hours) using different interlayers. Then, in order to evaluate the integrity of the fabricated mock-ups, they were tested at the high heat flux (HHF) test facilities, KoHLTs (Korea Heat Load Test) under 1.0 MW/m2 and 0.5 MW/m2 heat fluxes of up to 1000 cycles.Copyright © 2010 by ASME

In this paper, we propose a transmit diversity scheme based on the vector perturbation for a multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcasting system. Our method is inspired by the fact that precoding process of the vector perturbation designed to suppress the multiuser interference causes a reduction of the transmitted signal power. In order to boost up the transmit power, we employ a non-integer based vector perturbation together with temporal transmit diversity. We show from the simulation on 10×10 multiuser MIMO system with 16-QAM modulation that the proposed method outperforms the repetition scheme as well as the vector perturbation.

Background In the diagnosis of atopic diseases, allergen detection is a crucial step. Multiple allergen simultaneous test-chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA) is a simple and noninvasive method for in vitro screening of allergen-specific IgE antibodies. Methods The Korean Inhalant Panel test on 20 patients and Food Panel test on 19 patients were performed using the conventional manual MAST-CLA kit and the new automated MAST-CLA method (automated AP720S system for the Optigen Assay; Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics, Inc., USA) simultaneously. The results were evaluated for positive reactivity and concordance. Results The results of inhalant panel gave a relatively higher class level result than the food panel. The 8 patients out of 20 (40%) of the inhalation panel, and 9 patients out of 18 (47.4%) of the food panel showed 100% concordance between the 2 systems. Eighteen patients (90%) of the Inhalation Panel and sixteen patients (84.2%) of the Food Panel showed more than 91% concordance. Conclusions These results suggest that the MAST-CLA assay using the new, automated AP720S analyzer performs well, showing a high concordance rate with conventional MAST-CLA. Compared to manual MAST-CLA, the automated AP720S system has a shorter assay time and uses a smaller serum volume (500 µl) along with other conveniences.

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with diverse health risks, but the role of body weight as a risk factor for death remains controversial. METHODS We examined the association between body weight and the risk of death in a 12-year prospective cohort study of 1,213,829 Koreans between the ages of 30 and 95 years. We examined 82,372 deaths from any cause and 48,731 deaths from specific diseases (including 29,123 from cancer, 16,426 from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and 3362 from respiratory disease) in relation to the body-mass index (BMI) (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters). RESULTS In both sexes, the average baseline BMI was 23.2, and the rate of death from any cause had a J-shaped association with the BMI, regardless of cigarette-smoking history. The risk of death from any cause was lowest among patients with a BMI of 23.0 to 24.9. In all groups, the risk of death from respiratory causes was higher among subjects with a lower BMI, and the risk of death from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or cancer was higher among subjects with a higher BMI. The relative risk of death associated with BMI declined with increasing age. CONCLUSIONS Underweight, overweight, and obese men and women had higher rates of death than men and women of normal weight. The association of BMI with death varied according to the cause of death and was modified by age, sex, and smoking history.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal human cancers and continues to be a major unsolved health problem. The goal of this study was to estimate the independent effects and interactions between cigarette smoking and diabetes on the risk of pancreatic cancer in Korean male population. Cigarette smoking and the risk of incidence and death from pancreatic cancer were examined in a 10-year prospective cohort study of 446,407 Korean men aged 40 to 65 years who received health insurance from the National Health Insurance Corporation and who had a medical evaluation in 1992. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model after adjusting for age, body mass index, exercise and alcohol use. Current smoking was associated with an increased risk of incidence (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.6-1.9) and mortality (RR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.4-1.7) from pancreatic cancer. The RR for pancreatic cancer increased with both duration and amount of smoking. Diabetes was also associated with an increased risk of both incidence (RR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.5-2.2) and mortality (RR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.4-2.1) from pancreatic cancer. There was no interaction between smoking and fasting serum glucose in terms of pancreatic cancer risk. Thus, our prospective study has demonstrated that cigarette smoking and elevated fasting serum glucose are independently associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in a large cohort of Korean males.

Elevated levels of homocysteine is a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Polymorphic alleles in the MTHFR genes that cause recessively inherited increased homocysteine level can explain only a small proportion of the observed variation in homocysteine level. To investigate additional genetic influences, we examined environmental, familial, and genetic influences on serum homocysteine levels in 661 family members of 112 probands who underwent elective coronary arteriography. Maximum likelihood methods were used to fit several genetic and non-genetic models of inheritance to these data to determine if an unobserved Mendelian major gene could explain the familial homocysteine distribution. Adjustments for age, lifestyle (smoking and alcohol consumption), serum folate and vitamin B12, and the measured genotype effect of the MTHFR C677T mutation was carried out separately for males and females using multiple regression models for homocysteine, before and after log-transformation prior to this segregation analysis. After excluding the effects of mutations in the MTHFR genes, we found evidence of a major gene acting in a co-dominant manner. Estimated mean homocysteine levels for the three putative genotypes (LL, LH, and HH) were 8.0, 10.1, and 15.9 micro mol/l, respectively, with relative frequencies of 56.8%, 37.2%, and 6%, respectively. Our analysis suggested the presence of a co-dominantly expressed major gene, in addition to the effects of the MTHFR C677T mutation. The results of this study also indicated that multifactorial inheritance was supported more strongly than Mendelian inheritance alone. Our findings may have implications for attempts to identify new homocysteine susceptible genes.

An offshore wind farm will be constructed in the Yellow Sea, west of Korean Peninsula, where there are extensive fishing activity and numerous fishery farms. To study the effect of underwater piling noise on fishing and marine lives, we model the pile driving noise propagation using coupled FE and PE model. The near-field noise is computed by FE model, considering detailed specifications of the pile driving system. We apply 2D axis-symmetric geometry and utilize acoustic structure interaction analysis in the frequency domain. The FE results are used to compose the starting field for PE model, where appropriate range selection is an important factor to cover most of the contributing ray paths. Extrapolation technique to compensate the lack of FE data and the numerical filtering method to smooth the FE result are discussed. In the far-field, the noise propagation is modeled by the split step Pade PE algorithm. The improved PE starting field seems to give refined result than previous coupled model.

Purpose Tumor marker concentrations in a given specimen measured by different analyzers vary according to assay methods, epitopes for antibodies used, and reagent specificities. Although great effort in quality assessment has been instituted, discrepancies among results from different analyzers are still present. We evaluated the assay performance of the UniCel™ DxI 800 automated analyzer in measuring the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125, CA 15-3 and CA 19-9 tumor markers. Materials and Methods The linearity and precision performance of the five tumor marker assays were evaluated, and concentrations of the respective markers as measured by DxI were compared to those measured by other conventional analyzers (ADVIA Centaur™ and Vitros™ ECi) using 200 specimens collected from 100 healthy persons and 100 patients with respective cancers. Results The linear fits for all five tumor markers were statistically acceptable (F=4648 for AFP, F=15846 for CEA, F=6445 for CA 125, F=2285 for CA 15-3, F=7459 for CA 19-9; p

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to measure the association between the adiponectin, C1Q and collagen domain-containing (ADIPOQ) gene variants and obesity in Koreans. METHODS Three single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the ADIPOQ gene were genotyped in a population-based cross-sectional study of 986 healthy Koreans. Three different case-control groups (i.e. G1, G2, and G3) were defined according to body mass index (BMI) and serum adiponectin levels. Allelic and genotypic associations of this gene with obesity were measured using multivariate logistic regression analyses in each group. RESULTS The G allele of -11377C>G, a polymorphism located in the promoter region of the ADIPOQ gene (odds ratio (OR), 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.94) and most haplotypes including this allele significantly increased the risk for obesity. However, the OR decreased from 3.98 (G1 group) to 2.90 (G2 group) and 2.30 (G3 group) when a less strict definition of obesity was used. Most haplotypes, including this allele, significantly increased the risk of obesity. The statistical evidence from the GG genotype of -11377C>G (OR, 3.98) and the GT/GT diplotype composed of -11377G>C and +45T>G (OR, 5.20) confirmed the contribution of the G allele toward a predisposition for obesity. CONCLUSION These results suggest the contribution of the ADIPOQ gene toward susceptibility to obesity in healthy Koreans. The high-risk genotypes and haplotypes identified here may provide more information for identifying individuals who are at risk of obesity.

Isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is among the most common human birth defects, with a prevalence of approximately 1 in 700 live births. The B-Cell Leukemia/lymphoma 3 (BCL3) gene has been suggested as a candidate gene for CL/P based on association and linkage studies in some populations. This study tests for an association between markers in BCL3 and isolated, non-syndromic CL/P using a case-parent trio design, while considering parent-of-origin effects.Forty case-parent trios were genotyped for two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the BCL3 gene. We performed a transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) on individual SNPs, and the FAMHAP package was used to estimate haplotype frequencies and to test for excess transmission of multi-SNP haplotypes.The odds ratio for transmission of the minor allele, OR (transmission), was significant for SNP rs8100239 (OR=3.50, p=0.004) and rs2965169 (OR=2.08, p=0.027) when parent-of-origin was not considered. Parent-specific TDT revealed that SNP rs8100239 showed excess maternal transmission. Analysis of haplotypes of rs2965169 and rs8100239 also suggested excess maternal transmission.BCL3 appears to influence risk of CL/P through a parent-of-origin effect with excess maternal transmission.

Orofacial clefts, including cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) and cleft palate (CP), are one of the most common congenital malformations in Asian populations, where the rate of incidence is higher than in European or other racial groups. A number of candidate genes have been identified for orofacial clefts, although no single candidate has been consistently identified in all studies. We performed case-parent trio and case-control studies on 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MSX1 gene using a sample of 52 CL/P and CP probands from Korea. In the case-control study, the allele frequencies of 6 MSX1 SNPs were compared between 52 oral cleft cases and 96 unmatched controls. For the case-parent trio study, single-marker and haplotype-based tests of transmission disequilibrium using allelic and genotypic tests revealed significant evidence of linkage in the presence of disequilibrium for 1170 G/A of exon 2. With the GG genotype as a reference group among GG, GA, and AA genotypes at 1170G/A, the disease risk decreased with the presence of the A allele (AA genotype: OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10-0.99). These results are consistent with evidence from other studies in the US and Chile and confirm the importance of the MSX1 genotype in determining the risk of CL/P and CP in Koreans.

Viral load testing of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an essential tool for initiating and monitoring the antiretroviral therapy for HIV patients. To this end, several methods including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), branched DNA (bDNA), nucleic acid sequence based amplification assay (NASBA) and internally controlled virion PCR (ICV PCR) have become available. Of these methods, the standard reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay has been widely used in Korea. However, no comparison study has been performed among the various detection methods currently used in Korean patients. We evaluated the correlation and agreement between the PCR and the branched DNA (bDNA) assay for measurement of HIV RNA in Korean patients. Eighty randomly selected samples from HIV-1-seropositive patients visiting Yonsei Medical Center Severance Hospital were studied. We found that these assays show good agreement, have a reliable correlation (r = 0.92, mean difference in log10 copies/ mL +/- 2 standard deviation = 0.098 +/- 0.805) and produce values whose relationship is given by the following equation: log10v3 bDNA = -0.3405 + 1.0601 x log10RT-PCR. Thus, we conclude that these two methods may allow direct comparison of the results obtained from different assay systems.