• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.243-256
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to perform a content analysis on 62 domestic and international journals from 1998 to 2017, in order to review research trends in music and people with visual impairments. The framework of the content analysis was based on the year of publication, field of journal, research method, type of research, research subject, participants' age, and factors of impairment. The results showed that both domestic and international journals have rapidly increased in the last 10 years, and have expanded into the fields of education and therapy. In the research method, survey research was conducted much more frequently in domestic journals, while both qualitative and experimental research were employed on a roughly even basis in international journals. With respect to the type and subject of research, music perception and recent trends on the subject of musical interest and aptitude took up the majority of domestic journals, while international journals focused on music intervention, music perception and cognition with musical influences and experiences. The participants in both domestic and international journals were children, adolescents and adults, while the elderly were not observed. In the factors of impairment, research on people with total blindness or low vision were conducted frequently, but those with adventitious vision loss or multiple impairments were rarely performed. This study could be meaningful to suggest the direction of further studies, through the investigation of research trends in music and people with visual impairments.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.771-780
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• 2009

Cataract is the main cause of blindness and visual impairment, especially, age-related cataract accounts for about half of the 32 million cases of blindness worldwide. As the life expectancy and the expansion of the elderly population are increasing, the cases of cataract increase as well, which causes a serious economic and social problem throughout the country. However, the incidence of cataract can be reduced dramatically through early diagnosis and prevention. In this study, we developed a prediction model of cataracts for early diagnosis using hospital data of 3,237 subjects who received the screening test first and then later visited medical center for cataract check-ups cataract between 1994 and 2005. To develop the prediction model, we used random forests and compared the predictive performance of this model with other common discriminant models such as logistic regression, discriminant model, decision tree, naive Bayes, and two popular ensemble model, bagging and arcing. The accuracy of random forests was 67.16%, sensitivity was 72.28%, and main factors included in this model were age, diabetes, WBC, platelet, triglyceride, BMI and so on. The results showed that it could predict about 70% of cataract existence by screening test without any information from direct eye examination by ophthalmologist. We expect that our model may contribute to diagnose cataract and help preventing cataract in early stages.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.217-223
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• 2019

Acanthamoeba castellanii has ubiquitous distribution and causes primary acanthamoebic keratitis (AK). AK is a common disease in contact lens wearers and results in permanent visual impairment or blindness. In this study, we observed the cytopathic effect, in vitro cytotoxicity, and secretion pattern of cytokines in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) induced by A. castellanii trophozoites and/or cysts. Morphological observation revealed that panked dendritic HCECs co-cultured with amoeba cysts had changed into round shape and gradually died. Such changes were more severe in co-culture with cyst than those of co-cultivation with trophozoites. In vitro cytotoxicity assay revealed the highest cytotoxicity to HCECs in the co-culture system with amoeba cysts. A. castellanii induced the expression of $IL-1{\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-8, and CXCL1 in HCECs. Secreted levels of $IL-1{\alpha}$, IL-6, and IL-8 in HCECs co-cultured with both trophozoites and cysts were increased at an early incubation time (3 and 6 hr). These results suggested that cytopathic changes and pro-inflammatory cytokines release of HCECs in response to A. castellanii, especially amoebic cysts, are an important mechanism for AK development.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.65-73
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• 2023

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a significant visual disease that induces impaired vision and irreversible blindness in the elderly. However, the effects of ginseng berry extract (GBE) on the retina have not been studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the protective effects of GBE on blue light (BL)-induced retinal damage and elucidate its underlying mechanisms in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19 cells) and Balb/c retina. Methods: To investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of GBE on retinal damage in vitro, we performed cell viability assay, pre-and post-treatment of sample, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and western immunoblotting using A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells with BL exposure. In addition, Balb/c mice were irradiated with BL to induce retinal degeneration and orally administrated with GBE (50, 100, 200 mg/kg). Using the harvested retina, we performed histological analysis (thickness of retinal layers), qRT-PCR, and western immunoblotting to elucidate the effects and mechanisms of GBE against retinal damage in vivo. Results: GBE significantly inhibited BL-induced cell damage in ARPE-19 cells by activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway, regulating NF-kB translocation, caspase 3 activation, PARP cleavage, expressions of apoptosis-related factors (BAX/BCL-2, LC3-II, and p62), and ROS production. Furthermore, GBE prevented BL-induced retinal degeneration by restoring the thickness of retinal layers and suppressed inflammation and apoptosis via regulation of NF-kB and SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway, cleavage of caspase 3 and PARP, and expressions of apoptosis-related factors in vivo. Conclusions: GBE could be a potential agent to prevent dry AMD and progression to wet AMD.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 1997

Blindness or visually handicaps are found to be an important factor destroying lifestyles as well as a physical problem. According to the data of handicapped person's(v.h.p) registered in Korea, the number of v.h.p. has not decreased. Especially, visual handicapped adolescents (v.h.a.) suffer from an insufficiency of social support under the current education system. There is a special education system for v.h.a. in Korea, and, as a result v.h.a.'s are educated separately from general students and communites. Compared with the self-conception of general students, v.h.a.'s have a more negative self-conception. Among former studies 51.7% of v.h.p's are not in good health. This, of course, means that their handicap impacts on other health problems. The first purpose of this study is to find out the causes of disease and the degree of social support, self-esteem, health management behavior provided and then to analyze the effect of self-esteem and social support on their behavior. To accomplish these purposes, visually handicapped the middle and high school students in Seoul city and Kyung-gi province were selected and 300 students sampled. The main results are as follows : 1) The highest specific handicap is impaired lenses (19.7%). 2. There were high correlations between health management behavior, self-esteem, and social support. 3. Social support is a more important variable than self-esteem on health management behavior. 4. Age of entry and length of stay in their special dormitories, and teacher's support account for 16% of psychological health management behavior 5. Age of entry in their special dormitory and total degree of social support account for 12% of preventive health behavior.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2002

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide and are characterized by increased opacity of the lens that significantly diminishes visual acuity. It has been suggested that increased risk of lens opacities are associated with age, exposure to sunlight, diabetes, smoking, and poor nutrition. Antioxidant nutrients have born demonstrated to protect the lens membrane and protein against damage due to oxidative stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant system in the blood of cataract patients. The status of the blood antioxidant system was evaluated based on the levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals as well as glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (M7A) activity in 34 patients with cataracts (17 male and 17 female) and 45 control subjects (20 male and 25 female). After adjusting for age, the results showed significantly lower levels of antioxidant vitamins such as lycopene (M : p < 0.05, F: p < 0.01), zeaxanthin (F: p < 0.01), ${\gamma}$-tocopherol (F: p < 0.01) and ascorbic arid (M: p < 0.05) in the cataract patients than in the control subjects. In contrast, the concentration of cryptoxanthin (F : p < 0.07) showed a significantly higher value in the cataract patients. The serum level of the antioxidant mineral Zn (M : p < 0.01) was found to be significantly lower in the cataract patients while the ratio of cu/zn appeared significantly higher (M : p < 0.05). Significantly higher (M : p < 0.01, F: p < 0.05) concentrations of MDA in serum was found in the cataract patients as compared to the control subjects. GSH-Px activity was significantly lower (F: p < 0.05) in 71e cataract patients. In conclusion, the antioxidant system may play an important roll in cataract creation. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these findings and to establish preventive measures with an emphasis on antioxidant nutrition for cataract patients.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2022

Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a type of progressive blindness that is primarily due to dysfunction and the loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The accumulation of N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E), a by-product of the visual cycle, causes RPE and photoreceptor degeneration that impairs vision. Genes associated with dry AMD have been identified using a blue light model of A2E accumulation in the retinal pigment epithelium and transcriptomic studies of retinal tissue from patients with AMD. However, dry macular degeneration progresses slowly, and current approaches cannot reveal changes in gene transcription according to stages of AMD progression. Thus, they are limited in terms of identifying genes responsible for pathogenesis. Here, we created a model of long-term exposure to identify temporally-dependent changes in gene expression induced in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) exposed to blue light and a non-cytotoxic dose of A2E for 120 days. We identified stage-specific genes at 40, 100, and 120 days, respectively. The expression of genes corresponding to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during the early stage, glycolysis and angiogenesis during the middle stage, and apoptosis and inflammation pathways during the late stage was significantly altered by A2E and blue light. Changes in the expression of genes at the late stages of the EMT were similar to those found in human eyes with late-stage AMD. Our results provide further insight into the pathogenesis of dry AMD induced by blue light and a novel model in vitro with which relevant genes can be identified in the future.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2001

This study is based on the survey conducted on handicaps in randomly chosen 6 welfare facilities and medical institutions located in Seoul and Kyonggi-do. This survey has been conducted from September 20 and October 23, 1999. The results of this study are as follows: (1) 49.7% of individuals have answered that their dental health are not well maintained. (2) The number of brushing activity per day varied according to different physical and mental condition of each individual. (p<0.05) (3) 56.7% of people have answered that they have no experience with scaling. (4) 58.9% of people have answered that they have experienced toothache and gum bleeding problem. (5) 64.4% of individual have answered that they would like to attend seminars on maintaining dental health. (p<0.05) (6) 65.1% of individual infrequently visit to dental facilities. (7) 41.6% of individual possess health care card. (8) 61.8% have answered that disabilities and dental health are closely related. (p<0.05)

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.59-65
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• 2020

Lately the VR (Virtual Reality) game genre is becoming increasingly more popular and it has been cementing its place in the market as its own independent game genre. The key advantage of VR is that it lowers the barrier between player and the virtual world, thus creating an immersive experience. The suggested method develops a game that allows the player to experience what it is like to be visually impaired using the unique characteristics of VR. A distinctive feature of this game is that the character is provided only a limited range of sight, which is created using silhouette outlines. This restrictive visual field is then grafted onto VR and the player can indirectly experience blindness in a highly immersive manner. The silhouette outline along with the particle system is created using Oculus Rift, a headset highly used in VR game development, and Unity 3D game engine. We will also explain in detail regarding the removal of borders between the objects.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.209-211
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• 2015

A 5-year-old Siamese cat was presented at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Seoul National University with visual impairment. The cat was blind and its pupillary light reflexes were sluggish OU. While there were no remarkable findings in the anterior segment, generalized tapetal hyperreflectivity and retinal vascular attenuation were observed in the posterior segment of both eyes. Any historical significance and clinical symptoms suggestive of infection or inflammation were absent. All of the above findings strongly indicated a diagnosis of hereditary retinal degeneration in the cat. This clinical case report demonstrates the possibility of the presence of feline hereditary retinal degeneration in Korea. Awareness of the condition should be raised to prevent the spread of hereditary retinopathy in the Korean cat population.