• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.153-167
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• 2007

Objetives This experimental study is designed to investigate the effects of kwakhyangjungkisangamibang extract on the changes of adipose tissues, serum insulin and leptin levels in rats induced by a high fat diet. The leptin has been proposed to be involved in the role of food intake and energy expenditure. Methods During the 8 weeks of experimental period, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on the 2 different diets: the normal diet AIN-76A and high fat(beef tallow) diet ad libitum, of which 40% of the calories intake was fat. 9 rats in the control and high fat diet group were killed for the baseline experiment at 4 weeks of age. The high fat diet group was divided into three groups: control group, experimental group I(high fat diet plus kwakhyangjungkisangamibang extract), and experimental group II(high fat diet plus mahuang). The body weight, hypodermal fat tissue, serum lipid profile, insulin and leptin levels were measured after the administration of the high fat diet and extract. Results 1. The body weight was decreased in experimental group II, but there was not a significance difference compared to the control group. 2. The peritoneal, visceral, and hypodermal adipose tissue was decreased in experimental group I, but there was not a significance difference compared to the control group. 3. The lipid profile was decreased in experimental group I, but not in group II. 4. The insulin concentration was increased in experimental group I and II, but there was not a significance difference compared to the control group. 5. The leptin level was increased significantly in experimental group I(p<0.05) and II(p<0.01) compared to the control group. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that kwakhyangjungkisangamibang has an effect on the regulation of obesity.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.275-282
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• 2004

In this paper, a transcoding method that transforms MPEG-4 video bitstream coded in 30 Hz frame rate into H.264 video bitstream of 15 Hz frame rate is proposed. The block modes and motion vectors in MPEG-4 is utilized in H.264 for block mode conversion and motion vector (MV) interpolation methods. The proposed three types of MV interpolation method can be used without performing full motion estimation in H.264. The proposed transcoder reduces computation amount for full motion estimation in H.264 and provides good quality of H.264 video at low bitrates. In experimental results, the proposed methods achieves 3.2-4 times improvement in computational complexity compared to the cascaded pixel-domain transcoding, while the PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio) is degraded with 0.2-0.9dB depending on video sizes.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.3-14
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• 2009

Currently, H.264/AVC is used in many multimedia applications. Also, The MPEG-2 main profile which supports B pictures for bi-directional motion prediction is widely used in applications such as HDTV and DVD’s. Therefore, transcoding the MPEG-2 main profile to the H.264/AVC baseline is necessary for universal multimedia access. In this transcoding architecture including the GOP structure conversion, the proposed algorithms adopt the adaptive search range selection through the linearity test of a predictive motion vector and adaptive mode selection using the reference region complexity information. The proposed algorithms extremely reduce the computational complexity while maintaining the video quality.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.410-416
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The standard pattern of Brazilian food consumption is based on the combination of rice and beans served together in the main meals. This study assessed the effects of Brazilian-staple calorie-restricted (BS-diet) dietary advice, with brown rice and beans, on metabolic parameters, body composition, and food intake in overweight/obese subjects. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Twentyseven subjects were randomly assigned to a conventional-type calorie-restricted diet (CT-diet) (n = 13) or a BS-diet (n = 14). Glucose metabolism, lipid profile, anthropometric and body composition parameters, and food intake were measured before and after 16 weeks. Paired t-tests/Wilcoxon tests were used for comparison of differences from baseline and unpaired t-tests/Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of differences between the groups. RESULTS: After16 weeks, both groups showed reductions in weight and waist circumference (P < 0.02), and the BS-diet group showed a decrease in body fat (P = 0.0001), and significant improvement in glucose metabolism (fasting plasma glucose, glucose and insulin areas under the curve, Cederholm index, and HOMA2-$%{\beta}$) ($P{\leq}0.04$) and lipid profile (cholesterol, triacylglycerol, LDL-c, VLDL-c, and cholesterol/HDL-c ratio) ($P{\leq}0.05$). In addition, the BS-diet group showed significant improvement in HOMA2-$%{\beta}$, compared to the CT-diet group (P = 0.03). The BS-diet group also showed a significant reduction in energy, lipids, carbohydrate, and cholesterol intake ($P{\leq}0.04$) and an increase in fiber intake ($P{\leq}0.001$), while the CT-diet group showed a significant reduction in intake of energy, macronutrients, PUFA, and cholesterol ($P{\leq}0.002$). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the benefits of the BS-diet on metabolic parameters in obese subjects.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.164-171
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• 2010

Purpose: This study compared the total antioxidant status (TAS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the saliva of periodontally compromised patients before and after scaling and root planing (SRP) to assess their diagnostic utility. Methods: Severe chronic periodontitis patient (test group) and subjects with no attachment loss, sites showing a 3 mm or more probing depth and a sulcus bleeding index < 10% (control group) were enrolled in this study. Saliva sampling and clinical examination were performed at one week, one month and 3 months after SRP. The TAS and SOD activity in each patient's saliva was measured for the comparative analysis between the groups. Results: In the test group, the TAS decreased directly after SRP. With time, it increased slightly and was relatively unchanged compared to the baseline. In the control group, the TAS also decreased immediately after SRP but increased gradually with time until 3 months. The SOD activity in the test and control subjects decreased immediately after SRP until 1 month. At 3 months, the SOD activity had increased. Both groups had a similar profile of SOD activity. However, the SOD activity of the control group was significantly higher than that of the test group at each point in time (P < 0.05). Conclusions: There was a significant difference in the total salivary antioxidant level between the periodontitis and healthy or gingivitis (control) group during the experiment period. The total antioxidant level in the saliva was higher in the patients with severe chronic periodontitis than the healthy or gingivitis control before SRP. The SOD activity of the periodontitis patients was lower than the control at each time point. These findings conclusively reveal the possible use of saliva as a diagnostic tool for periodontal health.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to identify whether herbal medicine improves the clinical symptoms and abnormal blood tests of a patient with fatty liver accompanied by hypertriglyceridemia. Methods: A 44-year-old man with fatty liver and hypertriglyceridemia was prescribed Saenggangunbi-tang from July 20, 2020, to November 11, 2020, to reduce fatigue and to improve laboratory findings, such as liver enzymes and the lipid profile. We observed changes in symptoms, serum levels of liver enzymes, and the lipid profile during about 4-month treatment. We also recorded changes in the bioelectrical impedance analyzer findings during that time. Results: In this case study, an approximately 4-month treatment with Saenggangunbi-tang led to considerable improvement in laboratory findings and visceral fat area. In particular, the patient experienced a noticeable decrease in triglyceride levels compared with the baseline parameters of the first visit. In addition, no side effects-including weight gain and liver enzyme increases-were observed during treatment. Conclusion: This study suggests that appropriately prescribed herbal medicine is a therapeutic option to manage fatty liver combined with hypertriglyceridemia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.173-183
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• 2023

Background: Understanding the stability of quantitative sensory tests (QSTs) over time is important to aid clinicians in selecting a battery of tests for assessing and monitoring patients. This study evaluated the short- and long-term reliability of selected QSTs. Methods: Twenty healthy women participated in three experimental sessions: Baseline, 2 weeks, and 6 months. Measurements included pressure pain thresholds (PPT) in the neck, upper back, and leg; Pressure-cuff pain tolerance around the upper-arm; conditioned pain modulation during a pressure-cuff stimulus; and referred pain following a suprathreshold pressure stimulation. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and minimum detectable change (MDC) were calculated. Results: Reliability for PPT was excellent for all sites at 2 weeks (ICC, 0.96-0.99; MDC, 22-55 kPa) and from good to excellent at 6 months (ICC, 0.88-0.95; MDC, 47-91 kPa). ICC for pressure-cuff pain tolerance indicated excellent reliability at both times (0.91-0.97). For conditioned pain modulation, reliability was moderate for all sites at 2 weeks (ICC, 0.57-0.74; MDC, 24%-35%), while it was moderate at the neck (ICC, 0.54; MDC, 27%) and poor at the upper back and leg at 6 months. ICC for referred pain areas was excellent at 2 weeks (0.90) and good at 6 months (0.86). Conclusions: PPT, pressure pain tolerance, and pressure-induced referred pain should be considered reliable procedures to assess the pain-sensory profile over time. In contrast, conditioned pain modulation was shown to be unstable. Future studies prospectively analyzing the pain-sensory profile will be able to better calculate appropriate sample sizes.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-319
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of watching a virtual reality (VR) forest video on stress reduction in adults. Experiments were performed in an artificial climate chamber where temperature, humidity and illumination were controlled. To cause stress in subjects, the subjects were asked to multiply two digit numbers by one digit numbers for two minutes. The subjects then watched a VR forest video for five minutes. During the experiment, the heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) of subjects were continuously measured for evaluating their physiological state. After measuring the baseline and watching a VR forest video, their psychological state was evaluated using the profile of mood state (POMS), semantic differential (SD) method, and positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS). The results of physiological evaluation after watching a VR forest video showed a decrease in the stress index and HR, an increase in the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, and the standard deviation of normal to normal RR intervals (SDNN). The results of psychological assessment confirmed that watching a VR forest video induced "comfort", "natural", and "soothed" feelings in subjects. In addition, watching a VR forest video decreased "tension-anxiety (T-A)", "depression-dejection (D)", "anger-hostility (A-H)", "fatigue (F)", "total mood disturbance (TMD)", and increased "vigor (V)" compared to the base line, and decreased "negative affect" and increased "positive affect." These results indicate that watching a VR forest video decreases adults' stress index, stabilizes physiological state, and has a positive impact on psychological state. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for providing forest welfare services to people in the blind spots of forest welfare, and can lay a foundation for the adoption of VR, one of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution in forestry.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.39-53
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• 2023

Objective : The purpose was the effect of sensory integration therapy combined with an eye tracker on the sensory processing and visual perception of children with developmental disabilities. Methods : It was a single-subject study with a multiple baseline design between subjects, and the intervention applied sensory integration therapy combined with an eye tracker. Visual-motor speed and saccadic eye movements were assessed at each session of baseline and intervention periods. As pre- and post-evaluation, sensory profile, Korean-Developmental Test of Visual Perception and Trail Making Test were conducted. The results of each session evaluation and pre- and post-evaluation researched the effectiveness of the intervention through visual analysis and trend line analysis. Results : As a result of the evaluation for each session, the slope of the trend line for all children in visual-motor speed and saccadic eye movement increased sharply during the intervention compared to the baseline. As a result of the pre- and post-evaluation, the sensory processing of movement, body position, and visual changed from more than that of peers to a level similar to that of peers. In visual perception, all children's ability of Visual Closure increased. As a result of Trail Making Test conducted to confirm the improvement of children's visual tracking and visual-motor abilities, all children showed a decrease in performance time after the test compared to before. Conclusion : It was confirmed that sensory integration therapy combined with an eye tracker for developmental disabilities has effect on sensory processing and visual perception. It is expected to play an important role clinically as it can stimulate children's interest and motivation in line with recent technological improvements and the spread of smart devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.225-230
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• 2001

Intensity of background noise is a factor significantly affecting both subjective evaluation of experienced stress level and associated electroencephalographic (EEG) responses during mental load in noisy environments. In the study on 27 subjects we analyzed the influence of the background white noise (WN) intensity on psychophysiological responses during a word recognition test. Electrocortical activity were recorded during baseline resting state and 40 s long performance on 3 similar Korean word recognition tests with different intensities of background WN (55, 70 and 85 dB).. An important finding in terms of physiological reactivity was similarity of all physiological response profiles between 55 and 70dB WN, i.e., none of physiological variables differentiated the two conditions, while 85dB WN resulted in a significantly different profile of reactions (higher fast beta power in EEG spectra). This condition was characterized by highest subjective rating of experienced stress, had more fast beta activity and had tendency of right hemisphere dominance, emphasizing the role of brain lateralization in negative affect control.