• The Korean Journal of Medicine
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• v.99 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2024

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infections commonly present as mild upper respiratory tract infections in healthy adults, although severe respiratory complications have been observed, particularly in elderly and immunocompromised patients. We report a case in whom pneumonia caused by hMPV progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a healthy adult without underlying diseases. A 31-year-old female presented with fever and dyspnea, prompting transfer to our hospital for mechanical ventilation 3 days after symptom onset. Auscultation revealed coarse breath sounds and crackles in both lung fields, and chest X-ray showed non-specific infiltrative nodules with poorly defined borders throughout both lungs. ARDS caused by community-acquired pneumonia was diagnosed. hMPV was identified via rapid testing of respiratory samples for genes that encode pneumonia pathogens and drug resistance markers; we employed reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions to these ends. Six days later, the patient was weaned off the mechanical ventilator, and discharged from the hospital in good clinical condition.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.488-496
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• 2010

Dens evaginatus is a tooth with cylindrical enamel projection which forms a nodule on occlusal surface. It could be explained as outward overgrowth of inner enamel epithelium or localized hyperplasia of pulpal mesenchymal tissue during tooth development. A problem is that it is likely to be worn out or fractured by mastication ensuing pulpal inflammation. It is occasionally found on the lingual surface of upper anterior teeth as well, called talon cusp. Dens invaginatus is a tooth with deep lingual pit made by invagination of lingual enamel epithelium during tooth development while it is considered normal in terms of size and shape. Radiographically, a part of cervical enamel shows inward growth forming cavity and it is reasonable to say that the base is possibly open to pulpal cavity since they are very close. Talon cusp and dens invaginatus are relatively common abnormality of shape. However it becomes the opposite if the two exist in the same tooth. Once the talon cusp is broken by occlusal force or fissure between cusps is decayed, the complicated structure of canals makes the pulpal treatment difficult. Preventive treatments such as occlusal equilibrium and sealant, and regular oral examination should be preceded and thorough understanding of canal shape, using radiography, is required when pulpal treatment is necessary. This report is about a 9- year-old boy(lower left central incisor), a 8-year-old girl(upper right central incisor), and a 7-year-old boy(upper right central incisor), who have dens invaginatus and talon cusp in the same teeth. The first and the second patients are under pulpal treatments, and the last one is being observed showing no pathologic impressions.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.256-262
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• 2017

Essential oil from herb is known to exert pharmacological effects on the human body. In this study we investigated the antibacterial activity of 4 essential oils (teetree, rosemary, melisa, and lavender), as well as the blended mixture oil of teetree, rosemary, and melisa (TRM) on three bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibacterial analysis was performed using the standard disk diffusion method, and minimum inhibition concentration was determined by the broth microdilution method with different concentrations of essential oils (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mg/mL). After incubation at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 h, the antibacterial activity was assessed by measuring the zone of growth inhibition surrounding the disks. Herb oil with the inhibition zones showed varied values ranging from6 to 25 mm. However, the components of herb oil of TRM are as highly active as the teetree oil against pathogens, generating large inhibition zones for both gram negative and positive bacteria (13~22 mm and 8 mm inhibition zones). In the analysis for MIC, TRM showed growth-inhibitory effects at 0.0625% for S. aureus and E. coli, and 1.25% for P. aeruginosa. This result demonstrated that the anti-microbial activity of TRM was greater than a single herb oil, including oxacillin, rosemary, and teetrea. As a single herb oil, both rosemary and teetrea also had an anti-microbial effect by itself, and we can expect that the blended oil mixture may exert a synergistic effect against multidrug resistant bacteria, suggesting its future application in natural preservative agents for health food and cosmetics.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2017

Polydnaviruses (PDVs) are a group of double-stranded DNA viruses symbiotic to some endoparasitoid wasps. Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV) is a PDV symbiotic to an endoparasitoid wasp, C. plutellae, parasitizing young larvae of Plutella xylostella. An early expressed gene, CpBV-ELP1, plays an important role in the parasitism by suppressing host cellular immunity by its cytotoxic activity against hemocytes. This study aimed to test its oral toxicity against insect pest by expressing it in a recombinant tobacco plant. A recombinant CpBV-ELP1 protein was produced using a baculovirus expression system and secreted to cell culture medium. The cell cultured media were used to purify CpBV-ELP1 by a sequential array of purification steps: ammonium sulfate fractionation, size exclusion chromatography, and ion exchange chromatography. Purified rCpBV-ELP1 exhibited a significant cytotoxicity against Spodoptera exigua hemocytes. CpBV-ELP1 was highly toxic to the fifth instar larvae of S. exigua by injection to hemocoel. It also showed a significant oral toxicity to fifth instar larvae of S. exigua by a leaf-dipping assay. CpBV-ELP1 was cloned into pBI121 vector under CaMV 35S promoter with opaline synthase terminator. Resulting recombinant vector (pBI121-ELP1) was used to transform Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404. The recombinant bacteria were then used to induce callus of a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum Xanthi) leaves and subsequent generation (T1) plants were selected. T1 generation tobacco plants expressing CpBV-ELP1 gave significant insecticidal activities against S. exigua larvae. These results suggest that CpBV-ELP1 gene can be used to control insect pests by constructing transgenic crops.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2005

Traumatic bone cyst is a nonodontogenic cyst without epithelial-linig which contains fluid in it's cavity, and it is limited by bone walls with no evidence of infection. Traumatic bone cyst is asymptomatic and appears more frequently in the second decade. Gender distribution is approximately equal, although males are affected slightly often than females. Radiographically the lesion shows a well demarcated radiolucent lesion of variable size and the lesion may have scalloped margins. The adjacent teeth to traumatic bone cyst remains vital. Traumatic bone cyst is usually treated by surgical exploration and currettage of the lesion. In the first case of this case report, the patient was refered from the local dental clinic for the radiolucent area under the left mandibular first molar. From the panorama radiograph at the first visit, the radiolucent area of the left mandible showed a well defined scalloped margin and identified as traumatic bone cyst. In the second case, the patient have visited for the chief complaint of swelling and abcess of right maxillary second premolar. In the radiographic check up with panorama radiograph, the radiolucent lesion with well demarcated scalloped margin was found in the right mandible body, and identified as traumatic bone cyst. In the first case, overinstrumentation was done through the mesial root canal to irrigate the lesion. In the second case, not any treatment was done, and watched the progression of the lesion. And in both cases, after two month, the radiolucency and the size of the lesion has decreased to show healing in progress.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.293-300
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• 2007

The antimicrobial activity of 10 different traditional medicinal herbs extracts against E. coli was determined using paper disc method. Caesalpinia sappan and Rhus javanica, extracts in 5 mg/ml, and Paeonia suffruticosa and Seutellaria baicalensis extracts in 10 mg/ml showed significant antimicrobial activity against E. coli. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of medicinal herbs extracts were in the range of $1.4{\sim}8mg/ml\;and\;1.2{\sim}12mg/ml$, for MeOH extracts and EtOH extracts, respectively. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of each solvent fraction was most significant with the EtOAc layer. Optical density at 620nm after 24 hours incubation of E. coli in the presence of 100, 300 or 500 ppm of Caesalpinia sappan extract ranged from 0.02 to 0.1 compared to 0.6 in the absence of Caesalpinia sappan extract, indicating that growth of E. coli was significantly inhibited within 24 hours by the addition of at least 300 ppm of Caesalpinia sappan extract. Optical density at 620 nm after 24 hours incubation of E. coli in the presence of 300 ppm of Rhus javanica extract ranged from 0.02 to 0.2 compared to 0.5 in the absence of Rhus javanica extract, indicating that growth of E. coli was also significantly inhibited within 24 hours by the addition of at least 500 ppm of Rhus javanica extract. In conclusion, these findings suggest that extracts from medicinal herbs may play important roles in antimicrobial activities against E. coli.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.8 s.88
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• pp.1166-1171
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• 2007

Exercise is the strongest stress to which the body is ever exposed. The body responds to this stress through a set of physiological changes in its metabolic, hormonal, and immunological systems. In this study, responses of the immune system to the long-term aerobic and anaerobic exercises have been investigated. Regular moderate exercise is associated with a reduced incidence of infection compared with a sedentary groups. Aerobic training increases the heart rate and enhances the body's intake of oxygen long enough to benefit the condition of the body. In recent years, the importance of exercise in everyday life has been rapidly increasing. Moderate exercise appears to stimulate the immune system. And also, Exercise elicits an increase in the numbers of circulating lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets (including NK cells) which is followed by a decrease in the numbers of cells during recovery from exercise. However, prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise cause a temporary depression of various aspects of immune functions (e.g. lymphocyte proliferation, monocyte antigen presentation, open window periods, exercise induced asthma, exercise induced anaphylaxis) that usually lasts 2-24 hr after exercise depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise bout. Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) was defined as a decrease of at least 15% in pre exercise forced expiratory volume in one second at any time point after exercise. This includes elevation of cortisol and cathecholamines in plasma. On the other hand, highly trained athletes exhibit a chronic mild hypercortisolism at baseline that maybe an adaptive change to chronic exercise. And, Consuming carbohydrate during prolonged strenuous exercise attenuates rises in stress hormones and appears to limit the degree of exercise-induced immune depression. Recent evidence suggests that antioxidant vitamin supplementation may also reduce exercise stress and impairment of leukocyte functions.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated the effects of dietary 1% garlic extract on nonspecific immune responses and fish diseases (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus, Vibrio anguillarum, Streptococcus iniae and Edwardsiella tarda) resistance in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Fish were fed a commercial diets supplemented with 1% garlic extract for 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks feeding experiment, the artificial infection was made by V. anguillarum, S. iniae, E. tarda and VHSV. And the cumulative mortality was monitored for 2 weeks after artificial infection. The cumulative mortalities decreased in all experiments except for group of E. tarda compared to control group. We observed significantly higher levels of the hematocrit, glucose, total protein, lysozyme activity and the macrophage activity in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the experiments of drug sensitivity and MIC using the three bacteria (V. anguillarum, S. iniae and E. tarda), 1% garlic extract was more effective than the previously reported fermented garlic powder. These results suggested that garlic extract can increase the disease resistance of olive flounder against V. anguillarum, S. iniae and VHSV and the ability of nonspecific immune responses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.745-754
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• 2021

Deterioration of the immune function weakens the body's resistance to various infections, leading to a series of diseases. Immunomodulatory biomaterials have been used to reduce the side effects of immunosuppressants or to enhance immunity. Agarwood is the aromatic resinous portion of Aquilaria trees that has been traditionally used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of various diseases. Although previous studies have shown that agarwood can improve the body's immunity, evidence for this claim is still lacking. In this study, the immune-enhancing effects of the agarwood methanol extracts of Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk were evaluated in a RAW 264.7 macrophage model. Based on the results, the agarwood extracts markedly enhanced phagocytosis in the absence of cytotoxicity. The agarwood extract-treated RAW 264.7 cells exhibited the typical morphology of activated macrophages, which are spindle-shaped with elongated filopodia. Agarwood extract also significantly increased the production of nitric oxide (NO), which is associated with the increased expression of inducible NO synthase. Moreover, the secretion and expression levels of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, were increased by agarwood treatment. Notably, these are also associated with a mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Taken together, our findings provide scientific evidence that agarwood has potential immune-enhancing effects in vitro.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.47-56
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• 2021

This study a secondary data analysis study attempted to identify the factors influencing the successful aging of the elderly in Korea. Using the data of the 7th Aging Research Panel in 2018, 4,106 people over 65 years of age who had at least one non-living child and no missing values in the study variables were enrolled. Data were analyzed by frequency analysis, crossover analysis, independent sample t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis. The results of this study revealed that the factors affecting successful aging among elderly included age, the presence or absence of a spouse, education level, housing type, subjective health, exercise, alcohol drinking, and non-face-to-face contact frequency with non-cohabiting children, and the explanatory power of the variables was 24.1%. In order for the elderly to achieve successful aging, centering on child ties, the frequency of non-face-to-face contact, which can comfort the elderly's life and increase the satisfaction of life in a continuous relationship, is more important than having children live close and meet frequently. Based on this study, various strategies are needed for the successful aging of elderly people who are socially isolated due to concerns about COVID-19 infection.