• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2013

The neuroprotective effects of herbal ethanol extract (GP-EX) from Gynostemma pentaphyllum on dopamine neurons in animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD) were investigated. Rats and mice were administered with rotenone (2.5 mg/kg) for 28 days and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 30 mg/kg) for 5 days for the PD models, respectively and the animals were simultaneously treated with GP-EX (30 mg/kg, daily). After preparing the PD models, the animals were also administered with L-DOPA (10 mg/kg) for 14 days with or without GP-EX treatment. Treatment with GP-EX (30 mg/kg) inhibited the rotenone- and MPTP-induced neurotoxic effects in dopamine neurons of rats or mice, which was determined by the numbers of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunohistochemical staining survival cells, as well as the levels of dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid. GP-EX (30 mg/kg) also showed the protective effects on neurotoxicity which was induced by long-term administration of L-DOPA (10 mg/kg) in rotenone- and MPTP-induced animal model of PD. The used doses of GP-EX (30 mg/kg) did not produce any signs of toxicity, such as weight loss, diarrhea, or vomiting, in rats and mice during the treatment periods. These results suggest that GP-EX has the protective functions against chronic L-DOPA-induced neurotoxic reactions in dopamine neurons of rotenone- and MPTP-induced animal model of PD. Therefore, the natural GP-EX may be beneficial in the prevention of PD progress and L-DOPA-induced neurotoxicity in PD patients.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1464-1471
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• 2007

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder, leading to many complications including cognitive deficit. Regular exercise has often been recommended as a therapeutic maneuver to the diabetic patients for the prevention of secondary complications. In the present study, the effects of treadmill exercise on memory and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were investigated. Male SD rats, aged 6 weeks, were randomly assigned to the following three groups: control group(n=8), STZ-induced diabetic group(n=8), and STZ-induced diabetes and exercise group(n=8). Diabetes was induced by a single injection of STZ (50 mg/kg body weight). Treadmill running was conducted with duration and frequency of 30 minutes and 5 times per week, respectively, for 8 weeks. Memories were tested in the Morris water maze. Western blotting was performed to detect BDNF expression in the hippocampus. In this study, we found that compared to the control group, the STZ-induced diabetes group had a significantly impaired cognitive performance along with suppressed BDNF expression in the hippocampus and the exercise group had a higher cognitive function in diabetic rats. Therefore, the current findings of the study show that a treadmill running exercise can improve diabetes-induced impairment of cognitive function. And the improved cognitive function appears to be related to an alleviation in diabetes-induced BDNF expression in hippocampus.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2001

Objectives : To gather information about the factors which influence the interest and intention of admission into charging nursing hones for the elderly(CNH), as these homes represent an important method for resolving the problems related to the rapid population aging occurring in Korea. Methods : A face-to-face interview survey was carried out with 320(men 159, women 165) patients over 60 years old who were admitted at 2 university hospitals and 5 general hospitals in the Busan area between December 1998 and March 1999. Data were analyzed through t-test, ANOVA, correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results : The mean age and years of education of the study population was 67.0 and 7.7 years, and the types of chronic degenerative disease included musculoskeletal disorders(20.1%), cerebrovascular disease(17.1%), and diabetes(14.3%). The major forms of household living arrangement prior to admission were elderly alone(22.6%), and elderly couple(33.5%), while about half of them(55.5%) didn't want to live with their children id the future. Almost half were paying medication fees by themselves(46.6%). The level of actual intention of admission$(3.07{\pm}1.39)$ into a CNH was lower than that of interest$(3.22{\pm}1.33)$(p<0.01). Multiple analysis revealed that the intention of admission increased with decreasing number of future supportive persons$(\beta=-0.107)$, lower level of activity in daily life$(\beta=-0.447)$, and longer years of education$(\beta=-0.447)$ with 32.7% of $R^2$. As for the factors which determined the admission into a CNH, the fee and facilities were considered to be most important, and professional nursing and physician's care were the most desired services. In nomenclature, they preferred 'elderly hospital' or 'elderly health center' to CNH. Conclusions : Interest in CNH is increasing recently, but existing studies about patient experiences in CHN are still limited. This study may form a basis for future examinations of the needs and uses for CNH. Active financial support and public information are considered by the authors to be important factors for the induction of welfare services for the elderly, though CNH.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.389-398
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• 2000

The work of visiting nursing personnel consists mostly of direct nursing and it is absolutely necessary that training of the nursing personnel for infection control be emphasized because most of patients are composed of elderly people with chronic diseases and malnutrition who are highly susceptible to infection. Accordingly. this study was designed to provide basic data for the development of an infection control program in public health centers as well as the promotion of perception and performance of infection control by analysing the perception of importance and performance in the infection control of visiting nursing personnel who carry out visiting nursing services. The subjects of this study consisted of a number of visiting nursing personnel working for 15 public health centers. 15 health-center branches. and 16 health clinics. The collection of data was grounded on a questionnaire method. The questionnaire breaks down to 8 questions about general characteristics and 108 questions in connection with the perception and performance of infection control. The results of this study are as follows: 1. 82 subjects (78.1%) responded that it is necessary to control infection. 79 subjects(75.3%) responded that education is necessary for infection control. 50 respondents (47.6%) answered in the affirmative in regard to the role of infection carriers. 2. The mean score for the perception of importance in infection control was 4.55 and that performance accounts for 4.03. this turns out to be very high. 3. In terms of the perception of importance per each field of infection control. medication. the management of contamination and sterilization, the control of environments and instruments. washing hands and individual hygiene as well as the prevention of cross-infection and the supervision of infection stand at 4.72. 4.64. 4.60. 4.58. 4.52 and 4.21 respectively. In terms of performance. the supervision of infection. the control of environments and instruments, individual hygiene and the prevention of cross infection. medication. washing hands, and the management of contamination and sterilization was 4.21. 4.12. 4.10. 4.03. 3.91 and 3.81 respectively. 4. In terms of the correlation between the perception of importance and the performance of infection control. the score stands high in all fields: this means the high perception of importance leads to high performance statistically (P< .05). 5. In terms of the perception of importance in general characteristics. there is no significant difference while the form of working places. working career and the career as visiting nursing personnel show a significant difference in terms of performance(P< .05). From the results. it is suggested that the visiting nursing personnel should be constantly educated with the aid of the development of infection control programs and that instructions and instruments for the management of infection should be worked out so as to enhance the performance of infection control on the part of nurses in applicable communities.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.411-422
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to identify the difference of emergency care conditions where the nurse is posted in the 119 relief squard or not. The data composed a total of 777 cases of emergency activity of one police stand in Seoul during March, June. September and December in 1998. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The age of the subjects was 20-60 age 54.3%, over 60 age 35.4% with an average age of 50.2. Among them men were 55.0%, the unemployed were 60.8%. The place of the occurrence of an accident was the house, 49.7% and the cause as illness was 59.6%. 2. The main symtom was pain the 36.2% the main consciousness state was alert 76.9%: The state of the patients as chronic was 59.6%. 3. The consulting hospital of the 119 relief squad as a third medical center was 79.9%. The distance to the medical center as less than 5 km was 77.2%, and an average transfer distance was 5.38 km. The cases of doctor guided emergency care was 0.9%, the cases that had posted nurses in 119 relief squads was 48.6%. 4. The case of the best emergency care operation was difficulty in breathing, 62.1% and the second was unconsciousness, 46.1 %. The more serious the consciousness state, the higher the rate of emergency care operation. There wasn't any difference in emergency care operation concerning transfer distance. 5. The cases that had the posted nurses was 19.1%, the cases of no nurse was 11.7% among the cases of emergency care operation during transfering; the cases that had posted nurses had the higher emergency care operation. (p<0.05). Airway maintenance was 14.8% in cases that had the posted nurses, while in the cases of no nurse, 10.9%; and oxygen inspiration was 16.0% in cases that had the posted nurses while in the cases of no nurse 7.6% (p<0.01); spinal fixation was 6.6% in cases that had the posted nurses while in the cases of no nurse 4.6%(p<0.05). With these results, we can conclude that the cases that had the posted nurse showed higher emergency care operation.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2007

Background: Lipo-prostaglandin E1 (Lipo-$PGE_1$) has vasodilating and platelet aggregation inhibitory characteristics and it has been used as a treatment for patients with blood flow dysfunction disease. Based on the mechanisms of lumbar spinal stenosis, including veno congestion, neuro-ischemia and mechanical compression, we aimed to study whether intravenous Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection has any therapeutic effect on hyperalgesia in a rat foraminal stenosis model. Methods: In this study, twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the control (n = 10) and Lipo-$PGE_1$ (n = 10) groups. A small stainless steel rod was inserted into the L5-6 intervertebral foramen to induce intervertebral foramen stenosis and chronic DRG compression. In the Lipo-$PGE_1$ group, $0.15{\mu}g/kg$ of Lipo-$PGE_1$ were injected intravenously via a tail vein for 10 days starting from the $3^{rd}$ day after operation. Behavioral testing for mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia was performed for 3 weeks after the injections. Results: From the $10^{th}$ day after Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection, the rats in the experimental group showed significant recovery of their mechanical threshold, and this effect was maintained for 3 weeks. No significant differences of the thermal hyperalgesia were observed between the two groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that intravenously injected Lipo-$PGE_1$ may be effective for alleviating neuropathic pain, which isthe main symptom of spinal stenosis, by improving the blood flow dysfunction.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.394-400
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• 2014

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) is commonly observed in patients treated with excessive glucocorticoid (GC). Single administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has shown to induce immune stimulatory factors. However, the effect of repeated administration of LPS on GC-induced ANFH has not been studied. Thus, the purpose of this study was (i) to examine the cytokine profile induced by repeated LPS administrations and (ii) to test the effect of repeated LPS treatments on GC-induced ANFH. A mouse necrosis model of ANFH was designed by chronic GC administration with co-treatment of LPS. Mice body weights in the LPS/prednisolone (PDN) co-treated group were lower than that of the untreated control group, but spleen weights were greater than the control group. The levels of IL-6, $TNF{\alpha}$, and IL-33 in the liver and spleen of the LPS/PDN group were lower than the untreated control group, whereas $TNF{\alpha}$ level in the femoral head of the LPS/PDN group increased. Collectively, the effect of repeated LPS on the pathogenesis of GC-induced ANFH was associated with the $TNF{\alpha}$ level in the femoral head, but the pathogenesis did not correspond to cytokine levels in immune tissues.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2019

Patients with disabilities from various reasons such as disasters, injuries or chronic illness or elderly with limited body motion range due to aging are recommended to participate in rehabilitation programs at hospitals. But typically, it's not as simple for them to commute without help as they have limited access outside of the home. Also, regarding the perspectives of hospitals, having to maintain the workforce and have them take care of the rehabilitation sessions leads them to more expenses in cost aspects. For those reasons, in this paper, a home-based remote rehabilitation system using motion recognition is developed without needing help from others. This system can be executed by a personal computer and a stereo camera at home, the real-time user motion status is monitored using motion recognition feature. The system tracks the joint range of motion(Joint ROM) of particular body parts of users to check the body function improvement. For demonstration, total of 4 subjects with various ages and health conditions participated in this project. Their motion data were collected during all 3 exercise sessions, and each session was repeated 9 times per person and was compared in the results.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.52-59
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• 2007

Purpose: The venous flap is used as an alternative method to the standard free flap for the management of small and thin soft tissue defects. Especially, the venous flap has advantages of being thin, easy harvest and various donor sites, as well as it having lower morbidity. Yet their clinical applications have been limited by their unstable postoperative course and also by their complications such as partial necrosis. The aim of this study is to extend the clinical indications of venous flaps with using various methods. Methods: From May 2005 to March 2006, total of 19 patients(21 cases) underwent various venous flaps for soft tissue defects as a result of trauma(15 cases), facial skin cancer(3 cases), chronic ulcer(1 case) and surgical wound for congenital anomaly(2 cases). The arterialized venous free flap were applied in 18 cases, the pure venous free flap was applied in 1 case and the pure venous pedicled flap were applied in 2 cases. Among them, two flow-through arterialized venous free flaps were applied that used the great saphenous vein to reconstructed major arteries as well as the injured skin and soft tissues in the arm. All the flap were harvested from the volar wrist(11 cases), dorsum of foot(5 cases), thenar(2 cases), and medial thigh(3 cases). Results: The sizes of the flap ranged from $0.75cm^2$ to $264cm^2$(mean size: $40.06cm^2$). The follow-up period ranged from two to twelve months. In the majority of cases, we obtained satisfying results, which was the excellent reconstruction of skin and soft tissue defects and especially in the case of limb salvage, replantation and cancer reconstruction. However, there were 5 cases of partial necrosis and 2 cases of complete failure. The donor sites were closed primarily in 7 cases and wound closure with skin graft were in 14 cases. Conclusion: We conclude that the venous flap will not only be useful for reconstruction of small defect in the hand and foot, but also be useful for various other clinical indications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.338-344
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• 2001

배경: 말기 신부전 환자에서 심장병, 특히 관상 동맥 질환의 이환이 늘어나면서 관상동맥 우회수술의 대상 환자가 지속적으로 증가하고 있다. 이들 환자군은 수술후 유병률과 사망률이 매우 높고 고위험군으로 알려져 있다. 대상 및 방법: 1996년 3월부터 2000년 5우러까지 서울 중앙 병원 흉부외과에서 술전 말기 신부전증으로 진단 받은 후 관상 동맥 우회수술을 시행받은 환자 25명을 대상으로 의무 기록을 중심의 후향적 분석을 하였다. 술전 위험 인자 및 술전 신기능, 수술 결과, 술후 경과, 수술후 합병증, 사망률 및 생존률 등을 분석하였다. 결과: 술전 평균 크레아티닌 청소율은 12.7$\pm$5ml/mim였고 술전 평균 혈중 크레아티닌 치는 6.2$\pm$3mg/dl(1.7-14.4)였다. 술전 투석을 시행중인 환자는 11례(44%)였고 술전 투석을 시행하지 않았던 14례(56%)중 8례(8/14, 57.1%)는 수술전후로 새로이 투석이 필요하였다. 술전 혈액 투석 중이었던 9례중 2례에서 수술후 복막 투석으로 전환하였다. 수술 사망률은 2례(8%)로 흡인성 폐렴과 종격동염으로 1례, 그리고 수술후 출형과 종격도염으로 1례가 사망하였다. 수술후 합병증은 14명(56%)의 환자에서 발생하여 매우 높은 발생율을 보였다. 만기사항은 2례(8%)에서 발생하였으며 사망원인은 카테터에 의한 복막염이었다. 생존 환자의 4년 생존률은 82$\pm$13% 였다. 결론: 말기 신부전 환자에서의 관상동맥 우회수술을 비교적 만족스러운 범위의 수술 사망률(8%)을 보였으나 합병증 발생률이 매우 높고 합병증 발생 시 사망률이 매우 높아 수술주위 감염 예방과 세심한 환자 관리가 필요하다.