• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2015

Background: Asian dust is known to have harmful effects on the respiratory system. Respiratory conditions are also influenced by environmental conditions regardless of the presence of pollutants. The same pollutant can have different effects on the airway when the air is dry compared with when it is humid. We investigated hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in relation to the environmental conditions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database of patients who visited hospitals in Chuncheon between January 2006 and April 2012. Asian dust, haze, mist, and fog days were determined using reports from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hospital visits for asthma or COPD on the index days were compared with the comparison days. We used two-way case-crossover techniques with one to two matching. Results: The mean hospital visits for asthma and COPD were $59.37{\pm}34.01$ and $10.04{\pm}6.18$ per day, respectively. Hospital visits for asthma significantly increased at lag0 and lag1 for Asian dust (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19; p<0.05) and haze (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.22; p<0.05), but were significantly lower on misty (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99; p<0.05) and foggy (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93; p<0.05) days than on control days. The hospital visits for COPD also significantly increased on days with Asian dust (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05-1.59; p<0.05), and were significantly lower at lag4 for foggy days, compared with days without fog (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion: Asian dust showed an association with airway diseases and had effects for several days after the exposure. In contrast to Asian dust, mist and fog, which occur in humid air conditions, showed the opposite effects on airway diseases, after adjusting to the pollutants. It would require more research to investigate the effects of various air conditions on airway diseases.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.775-780
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• 2011

5-cell DMFC stack was fabricated and operated with the load of 4 A for 4000 hrs. After 4000 hrs operation peak power density of the stack reduced by 27.3%. Two of the five cells did now show performance degradation, the performance of other two was reduced by 40% and the performance of the other decreased by 60%. The amount of performance degradation of each cell by long-term operation did not correlate with the position in the stack. Platinum particle size in the anode catalyst layer of the MEA with the strongest degradation increased and the increase was severer on the position of methanol inlet than on the position of methanol outlet. However, platinum particle size in the cathode catalyst layers did not changed for all the MEA'. Ruthenium crossover from the anode catalyst layer to the cathode catalyst layer through the membrane was observed after 4,000 hrs operation by SEM-EDX and it occurred for all MEA' regardless of the degree of performance degradation. Atomic ratio of ruthenium to platinum in the cathode catalyst layer was the highest in the MEA with the strongest performance degradation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.367-376
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• 2009

In this study, two supercritical extraction systems of different scale, analytical-scale and lab-scale, were employed to investigate the extraction efficiency of canola oil from canola seeds using supercritical carbon dioxide ($SCCO_2$) as an extraction solvent. The effects of various parameters such as extraction temperature ($40{\sim}80^{\circ}C$), pressure (200~500 bar), particle size, and $SCCO_2$ flow direction on the extraction rate and yield were examined in detail. Triglycerides and fatty acids in the extracted canola oil were analyzed quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. The solubility values of canola oil in $SCCO_2$ could be calculated from the experimental results. Similar extraction yields were obtained from both analytical-scale and lab-scale extraction systems. The extraction rates obtained under solvent ($SCCO_2$ ) upflow conditions were found to be higher than those of solvent downflow extraction. However, the effect of $SCCO_2$ flow direction on the extraction yield was observed to be relatively insignificant.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.39-49
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of Taegeuk acupuncture on reducing mental stress by analyzing heart rate variability in Soeumin. Methods : Six Soeumin-diagnosed men participated in this study. They were randomly divided into group A and group B. Each participant went through 4 sessions every week with 1 week of washout period in between each session. HRV was measured three times at every session; at baseline, after administering mentally stressful circumstances and after applying Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture or Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture. This study was designed as a crossover clinical trial. Group A participants were treated with two sets of Soeumin Taegeuk and Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture treatment in respective order (i.e. Soeumin Taegeuk - Soyangin Taegeuk - Soeumin Taegeuk - Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture treatment). Group B participants were treated with reverse-ordered acupuncture treatment (i.e. Soyangin Taegeuk - Soeumin Taegeuk - Soyangin Taegeuk - Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture treatment ). Bayesian analysis was performed by using WinBUGS(Ver. 1.4.3) for comparison between Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture and Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture. Results : Overall, Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture tends to reduce LF/HF ratio, LF, HF, LF(Norm) and increase HF(Norm) more than Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture, but the difference was not statistically significant. In one participant, however, Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture reduced LF/HF ratio, LF(Norm) and increased HF(Norm) more than Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture, and the difference was stastatistically significant. Conclusions : This study suggests that Soeumin Taegeuk acupuncture might be an effective means of stabilizing mental stress-induced imbalance of autonomic nervous system for Soeumin.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1472-1476
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• 2007

This study was performed to observe changes of the intraocular pressure following cranial cervical ganglion block with the four different concentrations of lidocaine in beagle dogs with the normal intraocular pressure. We performed by the crossover test in ten beagle dogs divided into four groups, which were 2%, 1%, 0.5% and 0.25% lidocaine group. All experimental dogs received each four times cranial cervical ganglion block using 2 ml of lidocaine with the four different concentrations. The blocks were separately done at a week intervals in random order. Horner#s syndrome was observed in all groups. The intraocular pressure in the blocked side was significantly increased to 5 min in the 1% lidocaine group compared to the baseline (p<0.05). The intraocular pressure of 2% and 1% lidocaine groups were decreased between 25 and 45 min following cranial cervical ganglion block, while those of 0.5% and 0.25% lidocaine groups were unchanged. In conclusion, these results suggest that cranial cervical ganglion block affect on the change of intraocular pressure and 0.5% and 0.25% lidocaine are inadequate concentrations for the change of intraocular pressure in the dog with normal intraocular pressure.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.291-301
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• 2009

Double-layered polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared from two different sulfonated poly(aryl ether sulfone) copolymers by the two-step solution casting method for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Sulfonation degrees were adjusted 10% (SPAES-10) and 50% (SPAES-50) by controlling monomer ratios, and the weight ratios of SPAES-10 copolymer were varied in the range of 5~20% to investigate the effect of thickness of coating layers on the membranes. Proton conducting layers were fabricated from SPAES-50 solutions of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) by a solution casting technique, and coating layers formed on the semiliquid surface of the conducting layer by pouring of SPAES-10-NMP solutions onto. It was found that double-layered polymer electrolyte membrane could significantly reduce the methanol crossover through the membrane and maintain high proton conductivities being comparable to single-layered SPAES-50 membrane. The maximum power density of membrane-electrolyte assembly (MEA) at the condition of $60^{\circ}C$ and 2 M methanol-air was $134.01\;mW/cm^2$ for the membrane prepared in the 5 wt-% of SPAES-10 copolymer, and it was corresponding to the 105.5% of the performance of the commercial Nafion 115 membrane.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.71-75
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• 2002

This study was carried out to compare the bioavailability of $Ceclex^{(R)}$ (test drug, cefaclor 250 mg/capsule) with that of $Ceclor^{(R)}$ (reference drug) and to estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters of cefaclor in healthy Korean adult. The bioavailability was examined on 20 healthy volunteers who received a single dose (250 mg) of each drug in the fasting state in a randomized balanced 2-way crossover design. After dosing, blood samples were collected for a period of 6hours. Plasma concentrations of cefaclor were determined using HPLC with UV detection. The pharmacokinetic parameters $(AUC_{0-6hr},\;C_{max},\;T_{max},\;AUC_{int},\;K_e,\;t_{1/2},\;Vd)$ F, and CL/F) were calculated with non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis. The ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the $T_{max},\;log-transformed\;AUC_{0-6hr}\;log-transformed\;C_{max},\;t_{l/2},\;V_d/F$, and CL/F. The ratios of geometric means of AUC0-6hr and $C_{max}$ between test drug and reference drug were $103.2\%\;(6.74\;{\mu}g{\cdot}hr/ml\;vs\;6.53{\pm}g{\cdot}hr/ml)\;and\;100.4\%\;(4.85\;{\mu}g\ml\;vs\;4.82\;{\mu}g/ml)$, respectively. The $T_{max}$ of test drug and reference drug were $0.9\pm0.38\;hr\;and\;0.83\pm0.34$ hrs, respectively. The $90\%$ confidence intervals of mean difference of logarithmic transformed $AUC_{0-6h},\;and\;C_{max}$ were log $0.98{\sim}log$ 1.08 and log $0.88{\sim}log1.15$, respectively. It shows that the bioavailability of test drug is equivalent with that of reference drug. The estimated half-life of this study was longer $(1.21\pm0.27\;hrs\;vs\;0.5-1\;hr)$, the Vd/F was larger $(68.89\pm25.72L$ vs 24.9L), and the CL/F was higher $(38.62\pm7.09\;L/hr$ vs 24.9 L/hr) than the previously reported values.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.7-18
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• 2015

Objectives: Lawsone (1,4 naphthoquinone) is a non redox cycling compound that can be catalyzed by DT diaphorase (DTD) into 1,2,4-trihydroxynaphthalene (THN), which can generate reactive oxygen species by auto oxidation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of the phytomarker 1,4 naphthoquinone and its metabolite THN by using the molecular docking program AutoDock 4. Methods: The 3D structure of ligands such as hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) were drawn using hyperchem drawing tools and minimizing the energy of all pdb files with the help of hyperchem by $MM^+$ followed by a semi-empirical (PM3) method. The docking process was studied with ligand molecules to identify suitable dockings at protein binding sites through annealing and genetic simulation algorithms. The program auto dock tools (ADT) was released as an extension suite to the python molecular viewer used to prepare proteins and ligands. Grids centered on active sites were obtained with spacings of $54{\times}55{\times}56$, and a grid spacing of 0.503 was calculated. Comparisons of Global and Local Search Methods in Drug Docking were adopted to determine parameters; a maximum number of 250,000 energy evaluations, a maximum number of generations of 27,000, and mutation and crossover rates of 0.02 and 0.8 were used. The number of docking runs was set to 10. Results: Lawsone and THN can be considered to efficiently bind with NOS, CAT, GSH, GR, G6PDH and NADPH, which has been confirmed through hydrogen bond affinity with the respective amino acids. Conclusion: Naphthoquinone derivatives of lawsone, which can be metabolized into THN by a catalyst DTD, were examined. Lawsone and THN were found to be identically potent molecules for their affinities for selected proteins.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 1999

Bioequivalence study of two cefpodoxime preparations, the test drug ($Banan^{\circledR}$: Hanil Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) and the reference drug ($Podox^{\circledR}$: Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Sixteen healthy male volunteers, $23.8{\pm}2.13$ years old and $63.34{\pm}4.84kg$ of body weight in average, were divided randomly into two groups and administered the drug orally at the dose of 200 mg as cefpodoxime proxetil in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. Plasma concentrations of cefpodoxime were analysed by HPLC method for 12 hr after administration. The $AUC_{0-12hr}$ was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. The $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ were compiled directly from the plasma drug concentration-time data. Student's t-test indicated no significant differences between the formulations in these parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no differences in AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$ between the formulations. The apparent differences between the formulations were far less than 20% (e.g., 4.31, 1.99 and 4.30% for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). Minimum detectable differences (%) between the formulations at ${\alpha}=\;0.05$ and $1-{\beta}=\;0.8$ were less than 20% (e.g., 13.89, 13.88, and 16.97% for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). The 90% confidence intervals for these parameters were also within ${\times}20%$ (e.g., $-5,58{\sim}14.20$, $-7.89{\sim}11.88$, and $-7.78{\sim}16.38%$ for AUC, $C_{max}$, and $T_{max}$, respectively). These results satisfied the bioequivalence criteria of KFDA guidelines, indicating that the two formulations of cefpodoxime were bioequivalent.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.319-325
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• 2004

A bioequivalence of $Etodol^{TM}$ tablets (Yuhan corporation) and $Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ tablets (Kuhnil Pharm. Co., Ltd.) was evaluated according to the guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Single 200 mg dose of etodolac of each medicine was administered orally to 24 healthy male volunteers. This study was performed in a $2{\times}2$ crossover design. Concentrations of etodolac in human plasma were monitored by a high-performance liquid chromatography. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 24 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was performed using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for $Etodol^{TM}/Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ were 1.01-1.10 and 0.87-1.06, respectively. This study demonstrated a bioequivalence of $Etodol^{TM}$ and $Kuhnillodine^{TM}$ with respect to the rate and extent of absorption.