• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.356-363
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• 2010

Background: Connexin 43-mediated gap junctional communication plays an important role in atherosclerosis. Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between mitral valve annular calcification and atherosclerotic disease. However, the relevance of connexin 43 to mitral valve disease remains unclear. We hypothesized that the mechanism contributing to mitral valve disease is associated with alterations in cell-to-cell communication mediated by changes in Connexin 43 expression. Material and Method: Twenty male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups: animals in group 1 (n=10) were fed a normal chow diet, whilst those in group 2 (n=10) received a diet containing 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks. After sacrificing the animals, the mitral valves were excised and analyzed with immunohistochemical staining and Real-time Reverse Transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR). Result: Myofibroblasts and macrophages were found concentrated within the endothelial layer on the ventricular side of the leaflet in the cholesterol diet group. Immunohistochemial staining showed elevated expression of connexin43 in the cholesterol diet group. Real-time RT-PCR revealed increased connexin43 mRNA levels in mitral valves from hypercholesterolemic animals. Conclusion: Our finding that connexin43 expression is increased in mitral valves of hypercholesterolemic rabbits suggests that alterations in cell-to-cell communication via connexin43 containing gap junctions play a role in the development of mitral valve disease in hypercholesterolemia.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.687-694
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• 2008

Background: Although aortic valve sclerosis causes no significant hemodynamic alterations, it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. However, the role of ${\beta}_3$ integrin in aortic valve sclerosis remains unclear. Material and Method: Twenty male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups. Group 1 rabbits (n=10) received a normal chow diet, while group 2 (n=10) rabbits received a diet containing 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks. After the rabbits were euthanized, their aortic valves and ascending aortas were excised for analysis. Result: Total serum cholesterol ($2,148.3{\pm}1,012.5\;mg/dL$ versus $53.7{\pm}31.8\;mg/dL$, p<0.05), triglyceride ($240.4{\pm}218.3\;mg/dL$ versus $31.6{\pm}6.4\;mg/dL$, p<0.05), and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol($2,065.3{\pm}960.9\;mg/dL$ versus $29.1{\pm}30.9\;mg/dL$, p<0.05) levels were significantly higher in the cholesterol diet group compared with the normal diet group. Myofibroblasts and macrophages were more highly expressed in the aortic valve leaflets of rabbits in the cholesterol diet group than of those in the normal diet group. A real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed decreased ${\beta}_3$ integrin mRNA levels in the hypercholesterolemic aortic valves and aortas. Conclusion: The present study shows that hypercholesterolemia induces aortic valve sclerosis. These findings suggest that alterations in ${\beta}_3$ integrin may playa role in the development of aortic valve sclerosis.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.339-351
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• 2000

Optimal environmental conditions, that sustained fastest growth, lowest mortality and abnormality of the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis, were identified from field experiments undertaken at Chumunjin during 1991-1998. Temperature within the water column 10~30 m depth ranged between 5 and 23$^{\circ}C$; high temperature and daily fluctuation resulted in growth retardation and heavy mortality of the scallop. Optimal salinity range was between 31.5 and 34.5%0 and water transparency 6.0 and 18.1 m, which was significantly affected by phytoplankton density. Chlorophyll concentration ranged between 0.04 and 3.51 f.lgfL. Low temperature and high chlorophyll concentration appear to support faster growth of the scallop. Optimal periods of transplantation for intermediate culture were between mid July and early November: cultured under high density during July-August as a first step and under low density during mid September through early November as a second step. Optimal stocking density in square net cage (<35${\times}$35 em) for intermediate culture was 30-40 individuals per cage for main culture using lantern net and 80 -100 individuals of the size of 1.5 ~ 3.0 em shell height per cage for sowing culture. During the intermediate culture, the highest growth was realized, when the cage was held at water depth between 10 and 15 m. Water depth below 25 m, however, was best to avoid mass mortality during the periods of abnormally high water temperature and high variation of water temperature. The daily growth rate during the intermediate culture was between 0.019~0.381 mm; low in January and February but high in March and April. It is suggested that the main culture is commenced before June under low stocking density to avoid the possibility of mass mortality during summer by high water temperature.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 1998

Analysis of gravity, magnetic, and seismic reflection data from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea has provided some insights into the opening mechanism and crustal type of the basin. Free-air gravity anomaly data show positive anomalies of about 40~60 mgal near the Korea Plateau and Oki Bank and of about -20~20 mgal in the central basin. Bouguer gravity anomaly data exhibit NE-SW trending positive anomalies of about 150 mgal in the central basin which is interpreted to be related to high-density crustal material. Abrupt changes in both Free-air and Bouguer gravity anomaly profiles across the basin margins may be due to transition between continental and oceanic crusts. Magnetic anomalies in the basin are generally less than -400 nT. No stripe pattern is evident in the magnetic anomaly map but a NW-SE trending symmetric pattern is seen in some magnetic profiles. The symmetric pattern is probably associated with the high-density crustal material in the central basin suggested by Bouguer gravity anomaly. The acoustic basement in the deep part of the basin has only a small amount of local relief. No graben or half-graben structures are seen in the acoustic basement from which mechanical extension might be inferred. The lack of high-relief structures in the acoustic basement may suggest that the basin is underlain by oceanic crust or that the basement is overlain by thick volcanic layer which obscures the structures and relief of the basement. High-density crust in the central basin inferred from gravity data, abrupt changes in gravity anomalies across the basin margins, symmetric pattern seen in some magnetic anomaly profiles, and lack of relief in the acoustic basement may suggest sea-floor spreading origin of the Ulleung Basin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1337-1345
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• 2009

This study investigated the effect of exercise training and garlic powder ingestion on blood lipids and antioxidants activity in rats. Twenty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet with or without garlic powder (500 mg/kg) for four weeks as grouped in control (CON), exercise (EXE), garlic (GAR), and garlic + exercise training (GAREXE), respectively. EXE and GAREXE were trained on the treadmill for the same periods. Weight of fats (mesentery, perirenal, and epididymal) were weighed and blood glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and high density lipoprotein- cholesterol (HDL-C) were analyzed and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) for lipid peroxidation were analyzed in liver tissue. Body weight in GAREXE was significantly lower in the statistics than that in other groups (p<0.05), and the volume of fat in GAR and GAREXE was also much lower (p<0.05). Blood glucose was significantly lower in EXE and GAR (p<0.05), however, there was no effect of exercise training. Blood TG was lower in GAR and GAREXE (p<0.05), however, there was no effect of exercise training. HDL-C was significantly improved in EXE and GAR compared to CON (p<0.05), and GAREXE was higher than EXE (p<0.05). MDA content was considerably lower in GAREXE compared to EXE (p<0.05), and SOD activity was much higher in other groups compared to CON (p<0.05). In addition, GAREXE was significantly higher than EXE and GAR, thus there was significant increase when a garlic diet was carried out together with exercise (p<0.05). These results suggested that garlic powder ingestion during the training periods had a beneficial effect of lowering glucose and enhancing blood lipids profiles. Moreover, it also has antioxidant effects, which means that it could possibly suppress aging. It is necessary to inspect various effects of garlic with a variety of research methods regarding sampling process, production process, intake method, etc.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.345-359
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• 1993

This study was conducted to identify the factors related to the blood pressure in school children. The study subjects were 144 boys and 140 girls aged 10 years old, 4th grade student of one elementary school in Taegu City. Blood pressure and 18 variables for 284 school children were measured in May 1992. A weight-for-height index, R$\ddot{o}$hrer index(weight/$height^3$) was calculated for each individual as a measure of obesity. Body fat percent, fat weight, and lean body mass were measured by impedance fat meter(Model SIF-891). Serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, uric acid, total protein, and electrolyte were measured by automated clinical chemistry analyzer(Hitachi 4020). Low-density lipoprotein and atherogenic index were calculated by the equation. The variables assessed were sex, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure. R$\ddot{o}$hrer index, body fat percent, body fat weight, lean body mass, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, uric acid, total protein, serum electrolyte and blood glucose. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures for boys were 104.1mmHg and 66.6mmHg and those for girls were 102.9mmHg and 67.5mmHg. Systolic blood pressure of boys was positively correlated with height, weight, R$\ddot{o}$hrer index, fat weight, lean body mass, and triglyceride. Systolic blood pressure of girls was positively correlated with height, weight, lean body mass, and uric acid. Diastolic blood pressure of boys was positively correlated with weight. R$\ddot{o}$hrer index, and lean body mass. Diastolic blood pressure of girls was positively correlated with height, weight, fat weight, and lean body mass and negatively with total serum protein. In multiple regression analysis for the systolic blood pressure, the significant independent variables were R$\ddot{o}$hrer index and serum sodium in boys, and serum uric acid, fat percent, and R$\ddot{o}$hrer index in girls. In multiple regression analysis of the diastolic blood pressure, the significant independent variables were R$\ddot{o}$hrer index in boys and total serum protein in girls. This study indicated that important factors influencing blood pressure in school children were R$\ddot{o}$hrer index, fat percent, serum sodium, uric acid, and total protein. R$\ddot{o}$hrer index was most important among these. It is recommended to enforce the nutritional education for diet control of obesity to prevent hypertention in children and to adopt healthy life-styles that promote good health and prevent development of cardiovascular risk factors.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.217-227
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the initial growth, burrowing depth, and relative growth of mud shrimps (Upogebia major and Austinogebia wuhsienweni), living in damaged high density tidal flat shellfish farms form 2008 in the Western coast of Korea. By August, young mud shrimps (Upogebia major), which had settled down on the tidal flats in early May, grew to more than 10 mm in carapace length (CL). At the end of the first year, their CL and total length (TL) increased to 14.21 mm and 42.28 mm, respectively. The inhabiting depth of the young mud shrimps (Upogebia major) increased rapidly up to about 6 months after stocking (5 cm in July, 12.5 cm in September, and 28 cm in November, respectively). The inhabiting depth of adult mud shrimps in their burrows was about 10-93 cm during the year. As results, the analysis of the relative growth between the carapace length (CL) - the total length (TL) and the CL - total wet weight (TWW), the total wet weight of mud shrimps at Boryeong Saho (inner part of the Cheonsu-bay) was estimated to be 1.2-4 g heavier than those of Boryeong Jugyo (Outer part of the Cheonsu-bay) tidal flat. The young mud shrimps primarily grew from April to October. It is therefore crucial to observe whether the settlement of young mud shrimps on tidal shellfish farms from May to June to minimize the damage of shellfish farms by newly stocked young mud shrimps. In addition, it is recommended that young mud shrimps grown in fisheries be harvested before they dig deep into the sediment until early December.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2011

Cauliflower mushroom ($Sparassis$ $crispa$) is being cultivated as a functional mushroom since the mushroom contains larger amount of ${\beta}$-glucan than other edible or medicinal mushrooms. In this study, as a fundamental study for the cultivation process of cauliflower mushroom, we assayed the mycelial growth and the productivity of the mushroom cultivated on the sawdust-based medium made of larch ($Larix$ $kaempferi$) by 4 kinds of medium densities and 6 kinds of particle sizes. Low densities of sawdust-based media (0.68~0.72 g/$cm^3$) showed high variations in mycelial growth at early stage on sawdust-based medium. The coefficient of variance for the mycelial growth decreased from higher than 40% at the 3rd week to lower than 10% at the 7th week. High density of sawdust-based medium (0.80 g/$cm^3$) showed relatively lower variation in the mycelial growth at early stage with less than 30% of coefficient of variance, the high density of sawdust-based medium was thought to be quite stable compared to the lower densities of sawdust-based medium. From the viewpoint of mushroom productivity especially for the goods (excluding bottom of fruiting body), 0.76 g/$cm^3$ was better than any other densities; the return rates of fruiting body from each medium were 12.2, 13.6, 13.1, and 12.0% for 0.80, 0.76, 0.72, and 0.68 g/$cm^3$, respectively. By the way, it took about 40 days for harvesting from primordium formation with the sawdust-based medium excluded the particles less than 1 mm, while it took about 70 days with the medium including the particles less than 1 mm. The yield from the sawdust-based medium with the particles less than 1 mm was also quite less than any other sawdust-based medium especially for the goods. Therefore, we recommend that the sawdust-based medium with larch for the cultivation of cauliflower mushroom be prepared as 0.76 g/$cm^3$ in medium density with excluding the particles less than 1 mm.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.82-88
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• 2005

In this study, the physical compensator made with the high density material, Cerrobend, and the electronic compensator realized by the movement of a dynamic multileaf collimator were analyzed in order to verify the properness of a design function in the commercial RTP (radiation treatment planning) system, Eclipse. The CT images of a phantom composed of the regions of five different thickness were acquired and the proper compensator which can make homogeneous dose distribution at the reference depth was designed in the RTP. The frame for the casting of Cerrobend compensator was made with a computerized automatic styrofoam cutting device and the Millennium MLC-120 was used for the electronic compensator. All the dose values and isodose distributions were measured with a radiographic EDR2 film. The deviation of a dose distribution was $\pm0.99 cGy\;and\;\pm1.82cGy$ in each case of a Cerrobend compensator and a electronic compensator compared with a $\pm13.93 cGy$ deviation in an open beam condition. Which showed the proper function of the designed compensators in the view point of a homogeneous dose distribution. When the absolute dose value was analyzed, the Cerrobend compensator showed a $+3.83\%$ error and the electronic compensator showed a $-4.37\%$ error in comparison with a dose value which was calculated in the RTP. These errors can be admtted as an reasonable results that approve the accuracy of the compensator design in the RTP considering the error in the process of the manufacturing of the Cerrobend compensator and the limitation of a film in the absolute dosimetry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.789-796
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• 2016

The anti-lipogenic effect of cereal samples on high sucrose diet (HSD)-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice was studied. We divided C57BL/6 mice into various groups based on 8 weeks of treatment with three types of cereal samples (HSD+WR, HSD diet containing 40% white rice; HSD+MCG, HSD diet containing 40% mixed cereal grain; HSD+AO-MCG, HSD diet containing 40% mixed antiobesity-cereal grain). After the experimental period, body weight changes, liver weights, serum lipid profiles, and hepatic fatty acid metabolism-related gene expression levels were determined. We found that HSD+WR, HSD+MCG, and HSD+AO-MCG treatments reduced body weight and liver weight, especially HSD+MCG and HSD+AO-MCG effectively reduced levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels increased compared to the control group. Furthermore, expression of hepatic lipogenic genes such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c, acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1, cluster of differentiation, and $PPAR-{\gamma}$ (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor ${\gamma}$) decreased, whereas expression of ${\beta}-oxidation$ genes such as $PPAR-{\alpha}$ and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 increased following HSD+MCG and HSD+AO-MCG treatment compared with levels in HSD+WR and control groups. These results suggest that the functional cereal samples, especially HSD+AO-MCG treatment, improved hepatic steatosis triggered by an HSD-induced imbalance in hepatic lipid metabolism.