• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.213-221
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• 2017

This study empirically investigates the relation between information quality measured by accruals quality and the KOSPI200 index rebalancing. The accruals quality is used for the proxy of information quality and is estimated by employing the Francis et al. (2005) model. The result shows that there is a statistically significant difference between additions group and deletions group. The average information quality of deletions group is substantially lower than that of additions group. In addition, the regression analysis shows that the relationship between accruals quality and a dummy variable for changes in the KOSPI200 index composition is negative and statistically significant. This result implies that additions to the KOSPI200 stock index improves information quality and relieves the information risk of firm which results in the amelioration of information asymmetry. On the other hand, deletions from the KOSPI200 index result in the deterioration of information quality. These results are consistent with Merton (1987).

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.249-275
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• 2002

Iksan Export Free Zone which was established for the export promotion, the employment augmentation, the technological improvement and the regional development promotion through the attraction of foreign direct investment is declining function with diminution of foreign direct investment, exportation and employment since the middle of the 1980s. The decline factor of the function was inherent in disregard of the necessary locational factors for Export Free zone's function promotion and without respect to conditions in a choice of location. And the present labor intensive industrial structure of region has some difficulties with a modification of Export Free Zone's industrial structure to a technology intensive industry. According to the lack of coherent policy, a limited plottage and a lack of the extensible space decrease the effect of agglomeration and economic of scale. And the lack of governmental policy to create a dynamic advantage comparative with an amelioration of the locational conditions of region diminish the regional attractive force to foreign direct investment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.115-127
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• 1998

Laryngopharyngeal reflux(LPR) is one firm of the gastroesophageal reflux diseases(GERD). It is known to cause various kinds of otolaryngologic symptoms such as hoarseness, foreign body sensation in throat, chronic throat clearing, chronic cough, etc. Disease entities diagnosed by otolaryngologists as posterior laryngitis, globus pharyngeus should be suspected as LPR-related diseases. In this multi-center trial, we tried to evaluate the effect of cisapride(10mg tid) on LPR-related symptoms as the part I study(CIS-KOR-051) in 19 centers, and as the part II study(CIS-KOR-052) comparative evaluation of effect between cisapride(10mg tid) and ranitidine(150mg bid) on LPR-related symptoms in 4 centers. In part I study, efficacy of cisapride on LPR-related symptoms after 4 weeks was 53.5% and that of after 8weeks was 77.9% in per protocol(PPA) analysis group. In part II study, efficacy of the cisapride was much better than that of ranitidine not only from 8 weeks trial(p<0.001) but also from 4 weeks trial(p<0.021) in PPA group. In the multiple logistic regression analysis among the parameters which affect the efficacy of the treatment, cisapride prescribed group showed 10 times greater than that of ranitidine prescribed group(p<0.0001, Odds ratio : 10) in PPA group. LPR was proved by 24Hr double probe pHmetry in 13 patients out of 19 patients tested(68.4%). Thus these results indicated that inducing the improvement of motility functions could affect the amelioration of the LPR-related symptoms much better than reducing acid secretion from the stomach. And maybe it suggests that LPR-related symptoms mainly developed by the reduced motility functions of the esophagus and/or delayed gastric emptying.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.311-347
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• 2012

Infections are caused due to the infiltration of tissue or organ space by infectious bacterial agents, among which Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are clinically most relevant. While current treatment modalities are in general quite effective, several bacterial strains exhibit high resistance to them, leading to complications and additional surgeries, thereby increasing the patient morbidity rates. Titanium dioxide is a celebrated photoactive material and has been utilized extensively in antibacterial functions, making it a leading infection mitigating agent. In view of the property amelioration in materials via nanofication, free-standing titania nanofibers (pure and nominally doped) and nanocoatings (on Ti and Ti6Al4V implants) were fabricated and evaluated to assess their efficacy to mitigate the viability and growth of S. aureus upon brief (30 s) activation by a portable hand-held infrared laser. In order to gauge the effect of exposure and its correlation with the antibacterial activities, both isolated (only titania substrate) and simultaneous (substrate submerged in the bacterial suspension) activations were performed. The bactericidal efficacy of the IR-activated $TiO_2$ nanocoatings was also tested against E. coli biofilms. Toxicity study was conducted to assess any potential harm to the tissue cells in the presence of photoactivated materials. These investigations showed that the photoactivated titania nanofibers caused greater than 97% bacterial necrosis of S. aureus. In the case of titania-coated Ti-implant surrogates, the bactericidal efficacy exceeded 90% in the case of pre-activation and was 100% in the case of simultaneous-activation. In addition to their high bactericidal efficacy against S. aureus, the benignity of titania nanofibers and nanocoatings towards tissue cells during in-vivo exposure was also demonstrated, making them safe for use in implant devices.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6011-6016
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• 2012

Introduction: Epidemiological studies suggest a protective role for ${\beta}$-carotene with several malignancies. Esophageal adenocarcinoma frequently arises from Barrett's esophagus (BE). We postulated that ${\beta}$-carotene therapy maybe protective in BE. Materials and Method: We conducted a prospective study in which 25 mg of ${\beta}$-carotene was administered daily for six-months to six patients. Each patient underwent upper endoscopy before and after therapy and multiple mucosal biopsies were obtained. Additionally, patients completed a gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms questionnaire before and after therapy and severity score was calculated. To study the effect of ${\beta}$-carotene at molecular level, tissue extracts of the esophageal mucosal biopsy were subjected to assessment of heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70). Results: A significant (p<0.05) reduction in mean GERD symptoms severity score from $7.0{\pm}2.4$ to $2.7{\pm}1.7$ following ${\beta}$-carotene therapy was noted. Measurement of Barrett's segment also revealed a significant reduction in mean length after therapy. In fact, two patients had complete disappearance of intestinal metaplasia. Furthermore, marked enhancement of HSP70 expression was demonstrated in biopsy specimens from Barrett's epithelium in four cases that were tested. Conclusions: Long-term ${\beta}$-carotene therapy realizes amelioration of GERD symptoms along with restitution of the histological and molecular changes in esophageal mucosa of patients with BE, associated with concurrent increase in mucosal HSP70 expression.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4367-4375
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• 2016

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer and radio-sensitizing efficacy of a Withania somnifera extract/Gadolinium III oxide nanocomposite (WSGNC) in mice. WSGNC was injected to solid Ehrlich carcinoma-bearing mice via i.p. (227 mg/kg body weight) 3 times/week during 3 weeks. Irradiation was performed by whole body fractionated exposure to 6Gy, applied in 3 doses of 2 Gy/week over 3 weeks. Biochemical analyses as well as DNA fragmentation were performed. Treatment of solid Ehrlich carcinoma bearing mice with WSGNC combined with ${\gamma}$-radiation led to a significant decrease in the tumor size and weight associated with a significant decrease in mitochondrial enzyme activities, GSH content and SOD activity as well as a significant increase in caspase-3 activity, MDA concentration and DNA fragmentation in cancer tissues. Combined treatment of WSGNC and low dose of ${\gamma}$-radiation showed great amelioration in lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status (GSH content and SOD activity) in liver tissues in animals bearing tumors. It is concluded that WSGNC can be considered as a radio-sensitizer and anticancer modulator, suggesting a possible role in reducing the radiation exposure dose during radiotherapy.

• CELLMED
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.35.1-35.11
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• 2012

The homeopathic remedy Chelidonium majus 200C (Chel-200) is traditionally used by homeopathic practitioners in liver ailments arising out of hepatotoxicity. The present investigation was aimed at examining whether vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid or AA), used in both traditional and orthodox medicines, can show better effects when used in combination with Chel-200, in favorably modifying the toxicological effects induced by the chronic feeding of p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (p-DAB, initiator) and phenobarbital (PB, promoter) in mice for 7 days through 120 days to induce hepatotoxicity and liver tumors. Mice were euthanized at 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days of carcinogen feeding to assess various cytogenetical, biochemical and histological changes occurring in them. In a placebo controlled study, Chel-200 or the respective placebo (Alcohol-200C or Alc, "vehicle" of homeopathic drug), was orally administered to toxicant-fed mice. Sub-groups of the mice receiving Chel-200 were also fed either AA or an Alc placebo and their individual and conjoint effects were studied against the respective controls, to evaluate if the combination therapy of Chel-200 with AA can be of additional help in the amelioration of the toxicities generated by the toxicants. The combined feeding of Chel-200 and AA appeared to reduce the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects significantly, when compared to either only the Chel-200 or AA fed group. A similar trend was also obtained in the results of scanning and transmission electron microscopic studies of the livers. Experiments in other mammalian models are warranted to confirm if these drugs in combination could be used in palliative care of human patients with liver diseases including cancer.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.391-397
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Myocardial cell death due to occlusion of the coronary arteries leads to myocardial infarction, a subset of coronary heart disease (CHD). Dietary fiber is known to be associated with a reduced risk of CHD, the underlying mechanisms of which were suggested to delay the onset of occlusion by ameliorating risk factors. In this study, we tested a hypothesis that a beneficial role of dietary fiber could arise from protection of myocardial cells against ischemic injury, manifested after occlusion of the arteries. MATERIALS/METHODS: Three days after rats were fed apple pectin (AP) (with 10, 40, 100, and 400 mg/kg/day), myocardial ischemic injury was induced by 30 min-ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, followed by 3 hr-reperfusion. The area at risk and infarct area were evaluated using Evans blue dye and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, respectively. DNA nicks reflecting the extent of myocardial apoptosis were assessed by TUNEL assay. Levels of cleaved caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Bax were assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Supplementation of AP (with 100 and 400 mg/kg/day) resulted in significantly attenuated infarct size (IS) (ratio of infarct area to area at risk) by 21.9 and 22.4%, respectively, in the AP-treated group, compared with that in the control group. This attenuation in IS showed correlation with improvement in biomarkers involved in the apoptotic cascades: reduction of apoptotic cells, inhibition of conversion of procaspase-3 to caspase-3, and increase of Bcl-2/Bax ratio, a determinant of cell fate. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that supplementation of AP results in amelioration of myocardial infarction by inhibition of apoptosis. Thus, the current study suggests that intake of dietary fiber reduces the risk of CHD, not only by blocking steps leading to occlusion, but also by protecting against ischemic injury caused by occlusion of the arteries.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

Objectives : The present study was designed to investigate the anti-diabetic effects of Mori Folium (Morus alba L. of Moraceae) extract (MFE) on high fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type II diabetes mellitus in mice. Methods : The mice (C57BL/6J) were fed HFD for 8 weeks and then was induced with a single injection of STZ (75 mg/kg). The diabetic mice were divided into four groups [(STD, HFD, HFD + MFE and HFD + quercetin (QUR)] and administered with MFE or OUR for 4 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, lipid profile (triglycerides and cholesterol etc.), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), insulin and leptin were measured every 2 weeks. Results : Body weight gain was lower in the MFE and QUR groups than HFD group. The fasting blood glucose was lower in the MFE and QUR groups. Oral glucose and insulin tolerance were decreased in the MFE and QUR groups. The levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol were reduced in the MFE and QUR groups. The HDL cholesterol was much higher in the MFE and QUR groups than HFD group. The levels of GOT, GPT and atherogenic index were decreased in the MFE and QUR groups. The serum insulin and leptin concentrations were reduced in the MFE and QUR groups. Conclusions : These results showed that MFE could decrease blood glucose level and lead to an amelioration in dyslipidemia states on HFD/STZ-induced type II diabetes mellitus in mice.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.590-596
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine whether plasma lipid profiles are affected differently by snack kinds with equal calorific values. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We compared a Korean traditional confectionery (dasik) with Western confectionery (cookie) in this regard. Controlled cross-over study consisted of two 3-week snack intake phases and for separating, a 2-week washout period (3-2-3) was carried out with 30 healthy women aged between 40-59 years old. Brown rice based Korean traditional confectionery and wheat flour based Western confectionery were used. The participants consumed either dasik or cookie every day for 3 weeks, providing 93 kcal a day. RESULTS: The total cholesterol (TC) in the dasik group had decreased significantly after 3 weeks (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in the dasik group, reduction in TC and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were greater than those in the cookie group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prioritizing functional snacks like dasik improves plasma lipid profiles; this may be useful information for individuals who cannot refrain from snacking.