• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.9
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• pp.403-409
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• 2014

Purpose: Although high morning blood pressure (BP) is known to be associated with the onset of cardiovascular events in adults, data on its effects in children with hypertension are limited. Our retrospective study aimed to define the clinical characteristics of children with morning hypertension (MH) and to determine its associated factors. Methods: We reviewed 31 consecutive patients with hypertension, confirmed by the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). We divided these patients into 2 groups: the MH group (n=21, 67.7%), morning BP above the 95th percentile for age and height (2 hours on average after waking up) and the normal morning BP group (n=10, 32.3%). We compared the clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and echocardiographic findings including left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) between the groups. Results: The early/atrial (E/A) mitral flow velocity ratio in the MH group was significantly lower than that in the normal morning BP group. In addition, LV mass was higher in the MH group than in the normal morning BP group, although the difference was not statistically significant. The age at the time of hypertension diagnosis was significantly higher in the MH group than in the normal morning BP group (P =0.003). The incidence of hyperuricemia was significantly higher in the MH group than in the normal morning BP group. Conclusion: Older patients and those with hyperuricemia are at higher risk for MH. The rise in BP in the morning is an important factor influencing the development of abnormal relaxation, as assessed by echocardiography. Clinical trials with longer follow-up periods and larger sample sizes are needed to clarify the clinical significance of MH.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.112-129
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• 2020

Objectives : The aim of this study is to explore the types of pattern identification (PI, 辨證) and the differential points of PI used for the treatment of psoriasis in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) based on the Chinese references and to provide the evidences applying PI for the treatment of psoriasis in clinical practice. Methods : This study extracted patterns of psoriasis through database CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and analysis the patterns and classification criteria of the patterns. Those examined in the study are dermal symptoms, general symptoms, formula and herbs which are different depending on the patterns. Results : Total 60 studies were selected and 44 pattern types were extracted from them. We categorized the main pattern types on psoriasis used in TCM as 'blood-heat syndrome(BHS, 血熱證)', blood-stasis syndrome(BSS, 血瘀證), and 'blood-dryness syndrome(BDS, 血燥證)', 'dampness-heat syndrome(DHS, 濕熱證)' and 'yang-deficiency syndrome(YDS, 陽虛證)'. Among these patterns, BHS was the most common. In TCM, the pattern of BHS tended to have skin symptoms and signs related to inflammatory erythema and heat. Both BSS and BDS were characterized by long disease duration and poor healing. In addition, DHS tended to have the skin symptoms and signs such as oozing and severe itching. The symptoms and signs related to coldness mainly showed in YDS. For PI criteria, 'qi-blood-essence criteria(氣血津液辨證)' and 'eight-doctrine criteria(八鋼辨證) are commonly used. Conclusions : Our findings show that each PI on psoriasis in TCM has different characteristics related to dermal and general symptoms or signs. Further studies are needed to develop the diagnostic tool of PI on psoriasis reflecting on clinical practices in Korean Medicine by referring to the findings of this study about PI on psoriasis in TCM.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2012

In this study, the feasibility of spectral domain optical Doppler tomography for measuring blood flow characteristics in a micro-tube was demonstrated through several experiments. The use of an SD-ODT system in blood flow measurement can provide high resolution images (5 microns resolution). We prepared three capillary tubes to reveal the effect of different concentrations of hematocrit ratio (HR). One tube serves as the control. The two other tubes contained different concentrations of HR (5%, 25%). Three different capillary tube inlet flow velocities were tested in the present study. The Reynolds number (Re) which is based on the capillary tube inner diameter ranges from Re=6 to 48. We calculated a Doppler shift of the power spectrum of the temporal interference fringes with Kasai autocorrelation function to achieve the velocity profile of the flow. As a result, SD-ODT systems could not detect the cell depletion layer in the present study due to the limitation of spatial resolution. Nevertheless, these systems were proven to be capable of observing the RBCs of blood.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the antibiotic effects of bee venom (Apis mellifera) on the growth performance and blood characteristics in broiler chicken. 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into 3 groups with 3 replicates of 5,000 birds each. The treatments were control without antibiotic and bee venom, 0.5ppm or 1ppm bee venom. The final body weight and body weight gain were significantly higher in bee venom than control (P<0.05). The feed conversion ratio in all treated groups were significantly improved as compared to that of control (P<0.05). No significant differences among the groups were observed in the contents of total cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total protein, albumin and globulin in blood serum. The white blood cell, red blood cell, heterophil, lymphocyte, and stress indicator (heterophil:lymphocyte rate) were not significantly different among the groups. The superoxide dismutase-like activities in the groups that were water containing bee venom were significantly increased compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). It has been suggested that bee venom promotes the growth of broilers without any negative effect when added in broiler water.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.446-457
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyse researches on nursing intervention for elderly health promotion. Method: A literature review of 38 researches was carried out using guidelines developed by the present researchers. Result: The research papers studied in this research were theses written for doctoral or master's degree and published between 1994 to 2004. These researches applied nursing intervention for health promotion of elders and used experimental study design. The average period of nursing intervention was about 9 weeks and the average frequency was three times per week. As for major characteristics of subject groups, most of them were over 65 years old (76.3%) and resided in community (65.8%), and each group consisted of 10 to 29 elders. The dependent variables used in these studies included physiological variables (blood pressure, blood cholesterol level, pulmonary function, fasting blood sugar, blood cortisol level, body mass etc.), psychologic variables (depression, quality of life, life satisfaction, loneliness, anxiety etc.), cognitive variables (perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, self-concept, subjective health status etc.), activities of daily livings, health promotion behavior, pain, risks of fall, and variables related to Trans Theoretical Model. The majority of these studies (78.9%) applied exercise programs for health promotion including exercise motivating programs (15.8%). Conclusion: We suggest that more various nursing interventions must be applied to promote elders' health and to take care of their chronic diseases.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1191-1198
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• 2011

The use of a ventricular assist device (VAD) can raise the one-year survival rate without cardiac transplantation from 25% to 52%. However, malfunction of the VAD system causes 6% of VAD patients' deaths, which could possibly be avoided through the development of new VADs in which VAD malfunctions do not affect the patient's heart movement or hemodynamic state. A conventional VAD has an impeller or vane for propelling blood that can allow blood to regurgitate when the propelling force is weaker than the aortic pressure. In this paper, we developed a new pulsatile conduit-shaped VAD that has two valves. This device removes the possibility of blood regurgitation and has a small stationary area even when the pumping force is extremely weak. We estimated the characteristics of the device by measuring the outflow and the pressure of the pump in in-vitro and in-vivo experiments.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.81-97
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• 2013

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between osteoporosis and cardiovascular risk factors according to Sasang constitution. Methods A total of 1773 participants, over 40 years old, were examined as part of a community-based cohort in Wonju city in Gangwon province of South Korea, from June 2006 to August 2009. We measured bone mineral density by Achilles ultrasonometer, serum levels of lipids, fasting blood sugar, insulin and other cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure and waist circumference. Constitution was verified by a Sasang constitution specialist using the results of PSSC(Phonetic System for Sasang Constitution), facial photos and a simplified Sasang constitutional questionnaire. Results The prevalence rate was 11.2% in total participants, and 10.6% in Soyangin, 10.4% in Taeeumin and 13.9% in Soeumin. In general characteristics, educational and economic property and exercise were concerned with osteoporosis. Systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and total cholesterol were significantly high in osteoporosis group. Age and menopause were the key risk factors for osteoporosis. There was a significantly high prevalence in Soeumin for osteoporosis in men alone. Low physical activity was a major risk factor for osteoporosis. Waist circumference and hip circumference had significantly high odds ratio and weight had significantly low odds ratio. By Sasang constitution, Soyangin has the negative correlation with free fatty acid, Taeeumin has the negative correlation with waist circumference, pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein and Soeumin has the positive correlation with body fat amount. Conclusions Regimens on osteoporosis should be considered according to Sasang constitution. Cardiovascular diseases should be considered according to Sasang constitution. Soeumin should be cautious of osteoporosis and gain weights and reasonable amount of fat food. Soyangin had better do exercise lower body and eat little food containing triglyceride. Taeeumin had better lose weights and eat little cholesterol food.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.431-443
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• 2018

Objectives: Normal weight obesity (NWO) is defined as excessive body fat in the context of a normal body mass index (BMI). This condition carries a greater risk of developing noncommunicable chronic disease and has been associated with early inflammation. This study was conducted to compare the anthropometric measurements, eating behaviors, and blood clinical indices among four groups: underweight, normal, normal weight obesity and obesity. Methods: The subjects included 215 female college students. A questionnaire was administered regarding general characteristics, dietary behaviors, food consumption frequency. Anthropometric measurements and blood clinical indices were also investigated. Results: The average BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, fat-free mass, and muscle mass were highest in the obesity group (p<0.05). Most subjects had tried to lose weight and perceived that their health was worse than before they became college students. The ratio of students in the NWO group who thought their health was very poor was significantly higher than in the other three groups (p<0.05). The obesity and NWO groups seemed to eat more and their eating speed was significantly faster than the other groups (p<0.001). The consumption frequency of caffeinated beverages was significantly higher in the NWO group than in the other three groups (p<0.01). WBC was significantly higher in the obesity group (p<0.05). Serum levels of TG and total cholesterol were also significantly higher in the obesity group (p<0.05). Serum GPT was significantly higher in the obesity group (p<0.05) while BUN level was highest in the NWO group (p<0.05). Conclusions: The obesity group showed the most health problems while the NWO group seemed relatively healthy. However, NWO can lead to problems such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in later life if poor dietary habits are maintained. Therefore, education in appropriate eating habits is needed for these subjects.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.443-453
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• 2004

Toluene is currently used as a major organic solvent of glues which are abused by the youngster for its hallucinogenic effect. In this study, toluene determination method using headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) in the biological fluids like blood, urine and saliva of glue sniffers was validated and related uncertainties were estimated. LOD of $0.01{\mu}g/mL$ in saliva and LOQ of $0.1{\mu}g/mL$ in blood were the highest among LODs and LOQs in urine, blood and saliva. Other performance characteristics such as linearity, working range, accuracy, precision and recovery were also measured. The uncertainty at toluene concentration of $1{\mu}g/mL$ was estimated to be 0.13, 0.09 and $0.17{\mu}g/mL$ for blood, urine and saliva, respectively, and the uncertainty contribution from the least linear regression was dominant at the lower concentration of toluene.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2011

Assuming that photons absorbed by a vessel do not have acute variations, DC component reflect the basal blood volume (or diameter) before blood pulsation. Vascular stiffness and reflection is influenced by changes in basal blood volume (or diameter). This paper describes analysis of the characteristic variations of vascular stiffness, according to relative variations in DC components of the PPG signal (25-75%). For quantitative analysis, we have used parameters that were proposed previously, reflection and stiffness index, and the second derivative of PPG waveform, b/a and d/a. Significantly, the vascular stiffness and reflections were increased according to increase in DC component of the PPG signal for more than about 3% of baseline values. The systolic blood pressure were increased from $113.1{\times}13.18$ to $116.2{\times}13.319$ mmHg, about 2.76% (r = 0.991, P < 0.001) and the AC component of the PPG signal were decreased from $2.073{\times}2.287$ to $1.973{\times}2.2038$ arbitrary unit, about 5.09% (r = -0.993, P < 0.001). It is separated by DC median and correlation analysis was performed for analyzing vascular characteristics according to instantaneous DC variations. There are significant differences between two correlation coefficients in separated data.