• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2012

Recently, the market of skin-care device has been steadily growing up. In this paper, we tried to develop a personal compound stimulus device more competitive than existing products. As the compound stimulus, biochemical stimulus of herbal extraction fluid, thermal stimulus of plate-shaped carbon fiber heater, and optical stimulus of near infrared LED were selected. By some evaluation tests, the thermal stimulation part and the optical stimulation part were found to be developed properly. Additionally, the efficacy of the mixed stimulus of thermal and optical stimulation was tested in C2C12 mouse myoblast. Through RT-PCR analysis, it was found that, by the developed compound stimulus, the expression of collagen I mRNA and collagen III mRNA increased by 4.9 and 1.3 times respectively.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-159
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• 2002

The monthly water quality data measured at 19 stations located in the Sapkyo reservoir watershed were clustered into 2 to 7 clusters and factor analysis was conducted to characterize the water quality, using the information obtained from cluster analysis. The result of cluster analysis shows that Sapkyo reservoir and each stream (Sapkyo stream, Muhan stream and Kokkyo stream) in Sapkyo reservoir watershed hove their own water quality characteristics. The result of water quality analysis indicates that the concentration of suspended solids from Sapkyo reservoir is much higher than those of other streams, and which is probably because of increment of phytoplankton biomass with rich nutrient flowing Into Sapkyo reservoir from the upper stream of watershed. Furthermore, the concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand were 3.5 to 4.8 times and 1.7 to 2.5 times those of other streams, respectively. The overall water quality of Sapkyo reservoir watershed was considered to exceed eutrophic condition. Based on factor analysis, the water quality characteristics of Sapkyo stream and Muhan stream were closely related with farm land and residence. The water quality of Kokkyo stream was influenced by superabundant organic matter flowing from Chonan city and district wastewater treatment plant located in the upper stream of Kokkyo stream. The water quality factor influencing Sapkyo reservoir was closely related with water quality factors of other three streams.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.649-654
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• 2010

A total of 68 samples were collected including vaginal mucosa (n=66) from Jangsu stud farm, an equine aborted fetus (n=1), and uterine contents (n=1) from Jeju island. Seventeen Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) strains isolated from horses in Korea were identified as S. zooepidemicus by biochemical tests and sodA.seeI specific multiplex PCR. All isolated strains were divided into 4 clusters: group 1 (No. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15), group 2 (No. 4, 9), group 3 (No. 10, 16, 17), and group 4 (No. 1, 8) by RAPD typing. In group 3, No. 10 isolate that was isolated from vaginal mucosa was indistinguishable from No. 16 and 17 isolates, which were isolated from the equine uterine contents and the equine aborted fetus, respectively. The results of this study suggest that a limited epidemiological relationship exists between the strains from Jangsu (No. 10) and Jeju (No. 16 and No. 17). All isolates showed a high susceptibility to ampicillin, cefoxitin, ceftiofur, cephalothin, florofenicol, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, oxacillin, penicillin, tiamulin, tylosin and vancomycin in antimicrobial susceptibility tests. These results may provide the basic information needed to establish strategies for the treatment and prevention of reproductive diseases in mares in Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.3 s.47
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• pp.547-556
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• 1994

In order to identify the necessary information of biochemical Indices for renal effect of lead for the early detection in medical surveillance of lead worker, the reference values of urinary N-acetyl-$\beta$-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were studied with 205 office workers in one industrial complex area who were not exposed to lead occupationally. While study variables selected for lead exposure were blood lead (PbB), blood zinc protoporphyrin(ZPP) and $\delta$-aminolevulinic acid (DALA) in urine, those for renal effect were urinary N-acetyl-$\beta$-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine(Cr), serum uric acid (Ua), and urinary total protein(U-TP). The results obtained were as follows: 1. The mean values of blood lead, ZPP and DALA in all subjects were $14.39{\pm}4.02{\mu}g/dl,\;21.61{\pm}8.00{\mu}g/dl,\;and\;2.73{\pm}0.90mg/l$ respectively. 2. The mean value of urinary NAG activities in all subjects was $3.51{\pm}2.01U/l$. The mean value of urinary NAG activities, which calculated from NAG activities divided by urinary creatinine concentration (CNAG), was $5.42{\pm}5.53U/g$ creatinine and log-arithmic normal distributed. 3. The reference value of urinary NAG activity was 12.06 U/g creatinine(95% CU=10.57-14.76 U/g creatinine). 4. Logarithmic CNAG(r=0.781 p<0.0l), U-TP(r=0.670 p<0.01) and ZPP(r=0.172 p<0.05) showed statistically significant correlation with CNAG.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.702-708
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• 2009

We investigated biofilm formation in various media, growth in low pH, and the hemolytic activity of 14 strains of Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii) isolated from a variety of foods including powdered infant formula (n=75), infant cereal (n=100), honey (n=30), and other infant foods (n=100) in Korea. The Cronobacter spp. adhered and formed biofilms on polyethylene, and a greater extent of biofilm was observed in nutrient-rich media. No clear difference in biofilm-forming ability was noted among the media constituents and the pattern of biofilm formation was strain-dependent. Seven strains out of 14 strains (50%) grew at pH 4.1, indicating that the acid resistance of these Cronobacter spp. isolated in Korea was relatively low. Hemolytic activity was not observed in any of the strains. This study provides basic information for the physiological and biochemical characteristics of Cronobacter spp. isolated from a variety of infant foods in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2857-2860
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• 2016

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is one of the important causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Thailand, involved in the pathogenesis and leading to a development of HCC with or without cirrhotic changes of the liver. This study was aimed to investigate the predictive factors for HCC among CHB patients in a tertiary care center in Thailand. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of CHB patients with or without HCC during the period of January 2009 and December 2014 at Thammasat University Hospital, Pathumthani, Thailand. Data on clinical characteristics, biochemical tests and radiologic findings were collected from review of medical records. Results: A total of 266 patients were diagnosed with CHB in Thammasat university hospital during the study period. However, clinical information of only 164/266 CHB patients (98 males, 66 females with mean age of 49.4 years) could be completely retrieved in this study. The prevalence of HCC in CHB infection in this study was 38/164 (23.2%). CHB patients with HCC had a mean age older than those without HCC (59.5 vs 47 years, P-value = 0.01). Furthermore, history of upper GI bleeding, tattooing, blood transfusion, and chronic alcoholism were significantly more common in CHB patients with HCC than patients without HCC (13.2% vs 3.2% P-value 0.03, OR = 4.6, 95%CI = 1.2-18.1, 20% vs 3.9%, P-value = 0.01, OR= 6.1, 95% CI= 1.6-23.6, 20% vs 6.3%, P-value = 0.03, OR = 3.8, 95%CI =1.1-12.7, 62.2% vs 30.3%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 3.7, 95%CI= 1.7-8.1 respectively). Interestingly, more CHB patients with HCC had evidence of cirrhosis than those without HCC (78.9% vs 20.4%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 14.6, 95%CI = 5.8-36.7). In CHB patients with HCC, surgical therapy provided longer survival than radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (72 vs 46.5 months, P-value= 0.04). The mean survival time after HCC diagnosis was 17.2 months. Conclusions: HCC remains a major problem among patients with CHB infection in Thailand. Possible risk factors are male gender, history of upper GI bleeding, chronic alcoholism, tattooing, blood transfusion and evidence of cirrhosis. For early stage HCC patients, surgical treatment provided longer survival time than RFA. Most HCC patients presented with advanced disease and had a grave prognosis. Appropriate screening of CHB patients at risk for HCC might be an appropriate approach for early detection and improvement of long-term outcomes.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 2019

Thymus vulgaris L. is widely used as an ingredient in cooking and in herbal medicine. However, there is little information about its toxicity. The present study was performed to evaluate the acute and repeated 28-day oral dose toxicity of thyme essential oil in rats. For the acute toxicity test, two groups of three rats were used. The rats received a single dose of essential oil: 300 or 2,000 mg/kg of body weight (bw). The rats were observed individually during the first four hours, and then daily until day 14. For the toxicity test with repeated doses, four groups of 10 rats were used. Doses of 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day were tested for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected and the animals were sacrificed. Histopathological examination showed that in the lungs of rats given the 2,000 mg/kg bw dose, polymorph nuclear infiltrates, hemosiderin macrophages, and interstitial space thickening were present. In the repeated dose study, all rats survived the 28-day treatment period and apparently showed no signs of toxicity. The hematological and biochemical parameters were not altered. The histopathological study of the organs showed severe changes in the lung, with the dose of 500 mg/kg/day; in the other organs, no alterations were observed or the changes were slight. The body weight was only altered in male rats given the 500 mg/kg dose. The relative weight of the organs did not show any significant changes. Our studies revealed that the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris has moderate oral toxicity according to the results of the acute test, whereas the results of the 28-day oral toxicity test suggest that the no-observed-adverse effect level (NOAEL) is greater than 250 mg/kg/day.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.9 no.9
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• pp.78-86
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• 2019

In the study, the moral sensitivity, moral distress, and biomedical ethics awareness levels of hospital nurses are examined, and the mediating effect of biomedical ethics awareness in the relationship between moral sensitivity and moral distress is verified. As the study subjects, 153 hospital nurses were selected from both university hospitals and general hospitals in S city and J city. Using the SPSS WIN 21.0 system, data analysis was conducted via t-tests, the Sheffe test, correlation analysis, multiple regression analyses, Sobel test. The average level of moral sensitivity experienced by the hospital nurses was 4.70(out of 7), moral distress was 62.80(out of 336), and biomedical ethics awareness was 2.21(out of 4). Moral distress had a static correlation with moral sensitivity and biochemical ethics awareness, and moral sensitivity had a static correlation with biomedical ethics awareness. Finally, biomedical ethics awareness showed a partial mediating effect in the relationship between moral sensitivity and moral distress. It is important to develop a biomedical ethics education program that can help hospital nurses to resolve moral issues, thereby improving moral sensitivity and diminishing their moral distress.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.229-238
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• 2020

Field validation of PBcast, an infection risk model for Phytophthora blight of pepper, was conducted through a designed field experiment in 2012 and 2013. Conduciveness of weather conditions at 26 locations in Korea in 2014-2017 was also evaluated using PBcast. The PBcast estimated daily infection risk (IR) of Phytophthora capsici based on weather and soil texture data. In the designed filed experiment, four treatments including routine sprays at 7-day intervals (RTN7), forecast-based sprays when IR reached 200 (IR200) and 224 (IR224), and no spray (CTRL) were compared in terms of disease incidence and number of sprays recommended for disease control. In 2012, IR had reached over 200 twice, but never reached 224. In 2013, IR had reached over 200 three times and once higher than 224. The RTN7 plots were sprayed 17 and 18 times in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Weather conditions throughout the country were generally conducive for Phytophthora blight and 3-4 times of fungicide sprays would have been reduced if the PBcast forecast information was adopted in the decision-making for fungicide sprays. In conclusion, the PBcast forecast would be useful to reduce fungicide applications without losing the disease control efficacy to protect pepper crop from Phytophthora blight.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.224-235
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• 2022

Objective: Cage rearing has critical implications for the laying duck industry because it is convenient for feeding and management. However, caging stress is a type of chronic stress that induces maladaptation. Environmental stress responses have been extensively studied, but no detailed information is available about the comprehensive changes in plasma metabolites at different stages of caging stress in ducks. We designed this experiment to analyze the effects of caging stress on performance parameters and oxidative stress indexes in ducks. Methods: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) was used to determine the changes in metabolites in duck plasma at 5 (CR5), 10 (CR10), and 15 (CR15) days after cage rearing and traditional breeding (TB). The associated pathways of differentially altered metabolites were analyzed using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database. Results: The results of this study indicate that caging stress decreased performance parameters, and the plasma total superoxide dismutase levels were increased in the CR10 group compared with the other groups. In addition, 1,431 metabolites were detected. Compared with the TB group, 134, 381, and 190 differentially produced metabolites were identified in the CR5, CR10, and CR15 groups, respectively. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) show that the selected components sufficiently distinguish the TB group and CR10 group. KEGG analysis results revealed that the differentially altered metabolites in duck plasma from the CR5 and TB groups were mainly associated with ovarian steroidogenesis, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and phenylalanine metabolism. Conclusion: In this study, the production performance, blood indexes, number of metabolites and PCA were compared to determine effect of the caging stress stage on ducks. We inferred from the experimental results that caging-stressed ducks were in the sensitive phase in the first 5 days after caging, caging for approximately 10 days was an important transition phase, and then the duck continually adapted.