NOMENCLATURE B m = magnetic flux density of permanent magnet B X , B Y , B Z = orthogonal components of B m B r = residual induction θ = rotational angle of permanent magnet E = error equation for detecting minimum in error contours x p , y p , z p = position of capsule endoscope α, β, γ = rotational angles of capsule endoscope R XYZ (γ, β, α) = rotation matrix for capsule orientation In this paper, a position and orientation detection method for the capsule endoscopes devised to move through the human digestive organs in spiral motion, is introduced. The capsule is equipped with internal magnets and flexible threads on their outer shell. It is forced to rotate by an external rotating magnetic field that produces a spiral motion. As the external magnetic field is generated by rotating a permanent magnet, the 3-axes Cartesian coordinate position and 3-axes orientation of the capsule endoscopes can be measured by using only 3 hall-effect sensors orthogonally installed inside the capsule. However, in this study, an additional hall-effect sensor is employed along the rotating axis at a symmetrical position inside the capsule body to enhance measurement accuracy. In this way, the largest position detection error appearing along the rotating axis of the permanent magnet could be reduced to less than 15mm, when the relative position of the capsule endoscope to the permanent magnet is changed from 0mm to 50mm in the X-direction, from -50mm to +50mm in the Y-direction and from 200mm to 300mm in the Z-direction. The maximum error of the orientation detection appearing in the pitching direction ranged between -4° and +15°.

The infection status of zoonotic trematode metacercariae (ZTM) was investigated in total 568 freshwater fishes (19 species) from the irrigation canal of Togyo-jeosuji (Reservoir) in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, the Republic of Korea for 3 years (2018-2020). All fishes were examined using the artificial digestion method. The metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis (CsMc) were detected in 180 (43.8%) out of 411 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 38 per fish infected (PFI). Especially, in 2 fish species, i.e., Pseudorasbora parva and Puntungia herzi, the prevalence was 82.1% and 31.3%, and the infection intensity with CsMc was 88 and 290 PFI, respectively. Metagonimus spp. metacercariae (MsMc) were found in 403 (74.1%) out of 544 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 62 PFI. In the pale chub, Zacco platypus, the prevalence of MsMc was 98.6%, and their infection intensity was 144 PFI. Centrocestus armatus metacercariae were detected in 171 (38.9%) out of 440 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 1,844 PFI. Echinostoma spp. metacercariae were found in 94 (19.6%) out of 479 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 3 PFI. Metorchis orientalis metacercariae were detected in 43 (29.3%) out of 147 fish of positive species, and their infection intensity was 4 PFI. By the present study, it has been confirmed that some species of ZTM, including CsMc and MsMc, are prevalent in fishes from the irrigation canal of Togyo-jeosuji in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea.

Among vertebrate species, pigs are a major amplifying host of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and measuring their seroconversion is a reliable indicator of virus activity. Traditionally, the hemagglutination inhibition test has been used for serological testing in pigs; however, it has several limitations and, thus, a more efficient and reliable replacement test is required. In this study, we developed a new immunochromatographic test for detecting antibodies to JEV in pig serum within 15 min. Specifically, the domain III region of the JEV envelope protein was successfully expressed in soluble form and used for developing the immunochromatographic test. The test was then applied to the surveillance of Japanese encephalitis (JE) in Korea. We found that our immunochromatographic test had good sensitivity (84.8%) and specificity (97.7%) when compared with an immunofluorescence assay used as a reference test. During the surveillance of JE in Korea in 2012, the new immunochromatographic test was used to test the sera of 1,926 slaughtered pigs from eight provinces, and 228 pigs (11.8%) were found to be JEV-positive. Based on these results, we also produced an activity map of JEV, which marked the locations of pig farms in Korea that tested positive for the virus. Thus, the immunochromatographic test reported here provides a convenient and effective tool for real-time monitoring of JEV activity in pigs.

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