• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.392-398
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• 2005

Self-assembled multilayer thin films of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PEMAh) and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) were fabricated by layer-by-layer (LbL) sequential adsorption. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis of the self-assembled PEMAh/P4VP multilayer films confirms that the driving forces for the multilayer buildup are the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The linear increase of absorption peak of P4VP at 256 nm with increasing number of PEMAh/P4VP bilayers indicates that the multilayer buildup is an uniform assembling process. We also investigate the effects of polyelectrolyte concenhation variation of the dipping solution and pH variation of the PEMAh solution on the multilayer film formation. Thickness. adsorbed polyelectrolyte mass and surface roughness of the multilayer films were measured by UV-visible spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2010

Purpose: The liver is the second most common organ injured by blunt abdominal trauma. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of liver transaminase in screening blunt abdominal trauma patients for traumatic liver injury. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 231 patients who sustained blunt trauma and were at risk for traumatic liver injury between June 2009 and August 2010. All of them underwent a focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) and abdominal computed tomography (CT). Based on the diagnosis of abdominal CT, patients were divided into two groups: group I with liver injury and group II without liver injury. We compared the two groups and calculated the sensitivity, the specificity and the predictive values of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) by using multiple cutoff values. Results: Of 231 patients with no abdominal free fluid in the FAST, 33 had traumatic liver injury on abdominal CT. The mean AST and ALT levels in group I (311.6 IU/L and 228.1 IU/L, respectively) were significantly higher than the values in group II (48.4 IU/L and 35.6 IU/L, respectively). The cutoff to distinguish liver injury is 60 IU/L for AST and 58 IU/L for ALT, with 93.8% sensitivity and 79.8% specificity for AST, and 90.6% sensitivity and 87.4% specificity for ALT. Conclusion: We recommend that all patient with suspected blunt abdominal trauma be evaluated using serum liver transaminase as a screening test for liver injury even though no abdominal free fluid is shown on the FAST. If AST > 60 IU/L and/or ALT > 58 IU/L, abdominal CT was useful to confirm liver injury in this study.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2012

Objectives: 이 논문의 목적은 한 사업장에서 수십 년 동안 진행된 소음감소계획이 실제적이고, 경제적인 것을 증명하고 이를 바탕으로 소음의 공학적 개선방법과 효과적인 실행을 위한 실제 작동 가능한 모델을 제시하는 것이다. Methods: 1967년도에 설립된 다국적 전자회사에서 1987년부터 2002년까지 실행된 각종 소음 감소 노력, 요소, 프로그램을 분석하고 이 기간 동안 소음감소가 어떻게 실제로 일어났는지 분석하였다. 특히 회사가 다른 여러 가지 노력을 한 후에도 실질적 효과를 기대하기 어려워 공학적 개선과 같이 도입한 Action Learning Team (ALT) 활동에 초점을 두고 개선 효과를 파악하였다. Results: 실제 소음의 감소노력은 산업안전보건법의 변화에 따라 여러 가지 형태로 실행되었다. 주된 효과는 ALT활동이 있고 나서 이루어졌는데 평균 소음 노출수준이 86.9 dBA에서 79.8 dBA로 현저히 감소하였으며 소음 지역 (85dBA 이상 )도 10개 지역에서 3개 지역으로 70% 감소하였다. ALT 활동의 결과로 나타난 7개 지역의 소음 감소를 위해 투입된 총 비용이 6,767 달러였다. ALT 활동을 처음 시작한 첫해에 소음 감소지역을 줄임으로써 이 지역의 근로자가 청력검사를 받지 않아서 초기 396명의 근로자가 청력검사를 받던 것을 활동 후 130명만 받아 266명의 근로자가 청력검사를 받지 않아도 되어 청력검사 비용이 6,650 달러 절약되었다. 따라서 장기간으로 보면 매우 비용효과적인 방법으로 증명되었다. Conclusions: 실제 소음감소가 현저히 일어나고, 비용효과적인 소음 감소가 일어나려면 기기 설비 공정담당자가 소음감소의 중요성을 잘 알고, 그 기법을 숙지하고 있어야 하며, 실제 활동을 할 수 있도록 관리자 층의 권한을 위임 받아 활동할 수 있어야 한다. 이 논문에서는 공학적 개선 태스크포스팀을 운영하여 ALT활동을 하였을 때 실제적이고, 비용효과적인 소음 감소를 증명하였다.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2009

Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae and 4 Vibrio spp, V. anguillarum, V. splendidus, V. harveyi and V. ordalii, were isolated from the diseased olive flounders, Paralichthys olivaceus. The pathogenicity of the isolates were compared to mortality, blood biochemical contents, such as alanineaminotransferase(ALT), aspatate aminotransferase(AST), and cortisol level, and non-specific immune responses, nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction of macrophages and lysozyme activities of serum. The mortalities and levels of ALT, AST and cortisol of fishes infected with P. damselae were higher than those of others but significantly low in non-specific immune responses, NBT and lysozyme activities. These results suggest that P. damsela might produce damselysin having high hemolytic and phospholipase activities, correlated with the pathogenicity. P. damsela could also make an obstruction of internal organs, following increasing in the level of ALT and AST, and depression in host immunity caused by induced high levels of cortisol.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.127-142
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• 2019

This study investigates factors that impact dating relationship stability(DRS) among college students by applying two key concepts from the Interdependence Theory suggested by Kelly & Thibaut (1978; Thibaut & Kelly, 1959), the comparison level(CL) and comparison level for alternatives($CL_{alt}$). This study also examined mediating effects of commitment on the relationship between CL and DRS and $CL_{alt}$ and DRS. The research used a survey data set drawn from 327 college students currently involved in a dating relationship. The collected data set was then analyzed using SPSS software ver. 23.0 and AMOS software ver. 25.0, to produce the descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, and path analysis with bootstrapping. First, both CL and $CL_{alt}$ had a significant direct impact on DRS. In terms of effect size, CL's effect size was comparatively larger than $CL{_{alt}}'s$. The mediating effects from the commitment were evidenced. In the model, the commitment partially mediated the relationships between CL and DRS, and $CL_{alt}$ and DRS. The findings suggest that commitment still plays a key role in dating relationships among college students who currently have a romantic partner. The findings of this study show the possibilities in applying the concepts and theory of interdependence to explain current dating relationships among young adults.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.48-54
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• 2019

Purpose: Liver metabolism plays a pivotal role in the development of metabolic disorders. We aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory risk factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in young adolescents from an urban population in Korea. Methods: A population of 120 apparently healthy adolescents aged 12-13 years was included in the cross-sectional design study; 58 were overweight or obese and 62 were of normal weight. We estimated anthropometric and laboratory measurements, including waist-to-height ratio, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, aspartate aminotransferases (AST), ALT, and lipid profiles. Results: The mean ages of the overweight or obese and normal weight participants were $12.9{\pm}0.3$ and $13.0{\pm}0.3years$, respectively. Height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, AST, ALT, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score were significantly higher and the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index were significantly lower in the overweight/obese participants in comparison to the normal-weight participants (all P<0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, waist-to-height ratio, systolic blood pressure, and HOMA-IR score were independently and positively associated with serum ALT levels. Conclusion: Screening for ALT levels in adolescents may help to differentiate those at risk of metabolic abnormalities and thus prevent disease progression at an early age.

• BLOOD RESEARCH
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.314-319
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• 2018

Background Iron overload is a risk factor affecting all patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship of serum ferritin (SF) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with liver iron concentration (LIC) determined by R2 magnetic resonance imaging (R2-MRI), to estimate the most relevant degree of iron overload and best time to chelate in patients with TI. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 119 patients with TI (mean age years) were randomly selected and compared with 120 patients who had a diagnosis of thalassemia major (TM). Correlations of LIC, as determined by R2-MRI, with SF and ALT levels, were assessed in all participants. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results SF and LIC levels were lower in patients with TI than in those with TM; only ferritin values were significant. We found a statistically significant relationship between SF and LIC, with cut-off estimates of SF in patients with TI who had splenectomy and those who entered puberty spontaneously (916 and 940 ng/mL, respectively) with LIC >5 mg Fe/g dry weight (P<0.0001). A significant relationship was also found for patients with TI who had elevated ALT level (63.5 U/L), of 3.15 times the upper normal laboratory limit, using a cut-off for LIC ${\geq}5mg\;Fe/g\;dry\;weight$. Conclusion We determined the cut-off values for ALT and SF indicating the best time to start iron chelation therapy in patients with TI, and found significant correlations among iron overload, SF, and ALT.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.272-280
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• 2021

Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs), which contain immature oocytes, are matured in vitro for in vitro embryo production. Oocyte and cumulus cells are then separated using hyaluronidase. To date, there have only been a few reported cases of the toxic effects of hyaluronidase on porcine oocytes. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of bovine testis-derived hyaluronidase and recombinant human hyaluronidase on oocyte denudation and quality. Porcine COCs were matured for 44 h and denuded using different hyaluronidase concentrations and exposure times. Then, oocytes were activated by electrical parthenogenesis. In experiment 1, COCs were denuded using bovine-derived, ovine-derived (Hirax), and human recombinant (ALT-BC4) hyaluronidases for 10 and 20 min. In experiment 2, bovine-derived and human recombinant (ALT-BC4 and ICSI Cumulase®) hyaluronidases were used to denude the COCs for 2 and 20 min. In both experiments the oocytes were all completely denuded, and there was no degeneration. Rate of embryo development was significantly increased in group treated ALT-BC4 for 2 min and not significantly different in other treatment groups. In general it slightly decreased with longer exposure times. These results have confirmed that different sources of hyaluronidase do not have detrimental effects on the quality of porcine oocytes and suggest that the human recombinant hyaluronidase ALT-BC4 is suitable for oocyte denudation with an increased blastocyst rate.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.444-447
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• 2022

Reconstruction of soft tissue defects around the knee is challenging, and the most common solution is to use various locoregional flaps or, in some difficult cases, a free flap. The distally based anterolateral thigh (dALT) flap is a commonly used flap that relies on reverse blood flow from the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (d-LCFA). Here, we present the case of an anteromedial knee reconstruction using a dALT flap after resection of a pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma. The tumor resection resulted in a 14 × 7 cm defect, and a dALT flap, measuring 20 × 8 cm was elevated. During the surgery, we found a robust oblique branch of the LCFA (o-LCFA) sending off two sizable perforators to the anterolateral thigh region, whereas the d-LCFA was relatively small with no usable perforators. Therefore, we harvested a dALT flap relying on reverse flow from the o-LCFA. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and the flap survived without complications. This report demonstrates that reverse flow from the o-LCFA may be an alternative to nourish a dALT flap in cases where the d-LCFA is hypoplastic or suitable perforators from the d-LCFA are unavailable.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.601-609
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• 2023

Background The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is a preferred option in the reconstruction of a wide variety of defects, enabling multiple tissue components and thicknesses. Methods This study was conducted to investigate the correlation of the thickness of the traditional subfascial ALT flap and superficial fat flap with age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). A total of 42 patients (28 males and 14 females) were included in the study. Results Mean age was 50.2 (range, 16-75) years and mean BMI was 24.68 ± 4.02 (range, 16.5-34.7) kg/m². The subfascial flap thickness was significantly thinner in male patients (16.07 ± 2.77 mm) than in female patients (24.07 ± 3.93 mm; p < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was found between male (4.28 ± 1.15 mm) and female patients (4.85 ± 1.09 mm) regarding superficial fat flap thickness (p = 0.13). The thickness of both flaps had a positive correlation with BMI, and the strongest correlation was found for subfascial ALT thickness in female patients (r = 0.81). Age had no effect on both flap thickness measurements. The anterior thigh is thicker in women than in men, although it varies according to BMI. This shows that flap elevation is important in the superthin plane, especially if a thin flap is desired in female patients in defect reconstruction with the ALT flap. Thus, a single-stage reconstruction is achieved without the need for a defatting procedure after subfascial dissection or a second defatting procedure 3 to 6 months later. Conclusion The appropriate ALT flap plane should be selected considering the gender and BMI of the patient.