• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.42 no.9
• /
• pp.672-685
• /
• 2019

Currently, liver transplantation is the only available remedy for patients with end-stage liver disease. Conservation of transplanted liver graft is the most important issue as it directly related to patient survival. Carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) protects cells against oxidative stress and cell death by inactivating cellular membrane-derived lipid aldehydes. Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury during living-donor liver transplantation is known to form reactive oxygen species. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate whether CBR1 transcription might be increased during liver I/R injury and whether such increase might protect liver against I/R injury. Our results revealed that transcription factor Nrf2 could induce CBR1 transcription in liver of mice during I/R. Pre-treatment with sulforaphane, an activator of Nrf2, increased CBR1 expression, decreased liver enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase, and reduced I/R-related pathological changes. Using oxygen-glucose deprivation and recovery model of human normal liver cell line, it was found that oxidative stress markers and lipid peroxidation products were significantly lowered in cells overexpressing CBR1. Conversely, CBR1 knockdown cells expressed elevated levels of oxidative stress proteins compared to the parental cell line. We also observed that Nrf2 and CBR1 were overexpressed during liver transplantation in clinical samples. These results suggest that CBR1 expression during liver I/R injury is regulated by transcription factor Nrf2. In addition, CBR1 can reduce free radicals and prevent lipid peroxidation. Taken together, CBR1 induction might be a therapeutic strategy for relieving liver I/R injury during liver transplantation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.465-472
• /
• 2019

Candida albicans is an opportunistic human pathogen that causes infections. Candidiasis is often related to antifungal resistance because the pathogen has the ability to form biofilms. In a previous study, we found that the Salvia miltiorriza ethanol extract demonstrated anticandidal activity by altering membrane permeability and inhibiting the cell wall synthesis in C. albicans. Our results here demonstrate that $78{\mu}g/ml$ of the S. miltiorriza extract significantly diminished the early stage biofilms formed by 10 clinical C. albicans isolates by 51.3%; this was analyzed by 2,3-Bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide salt (XTT) reduction assay. The effect of the S. miltiorrhiza extract on the adhesion of C. albicans cells to polystyrene plates and germ tube formation was examined via microscopic investigation. Although the density of the adhered cells was remarkably reduced up on incubation with $39{\mu}g/ml$ S. miltiorrhiza extract, germ tube formation by C. albicans was rarely affected. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the S. miltiorrhiza extract downregulated the expression of C. albicans hypha-specific genes, EAP1 by 34.7% (p < 0.001), ALS1 by 45.0% (p < 0.001), ALS3 by 48.1% (p < 0.001), and ECE1 by 21.3% (p = 0.006), respectively. Our data suggest that the S. miltiorrhiza ethanol extract significantly inhibited the early stage of biofilm formation by C. albicans by interfering with cell adhesion, by downregulating EAP1, ALS1 and ALS3, and presumably by modifying the cell wall and membrane structure.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.77-87
• /
• 2019

The study aimed to develop Speech Range Profile (SRP) and to examine and validate its clinical application. Forty-five participants without voice disorders aged 18-29 years were compared using SRP and Voice Range Profile (VRP). The authors developed the "Fire!" paragraph as a SRP task compromising 14 sentences including all Korean spoken phonemes and sentence types. To compare SRP and VRP results, the participants read the paragraph (reading) and counted from 21 to 30 (counting) as a part of SRP tasks, and produced a vowel /a/ from low to high frequencies (gliding) and a shortened form of the VRP as a part of VRP tasks. $F0_{max}$, $F0_{min}$, $F0_{range}$, $I_{max}$, $I_{min}$, and $I_{range}$ for each task were measured and compared, showing that $F0_{max}$, $F0_{min}$, $F0_{range}$, $I_{max}$, and $I_{range}$ were not different between reading and gliding. $I_{min}$, had the lowest value in counting. It is concluded that the newly developed SRP task, reading the "Fire" paragraph, can yield a maximum phonation range similar to that found by VRP. Therefore, it is expected that voice evaluation can be effectively performed in a relatively short time by applying SRP with the "Fire" paragraph, a functional utterance task, in place of VRP, which may be difficult to measure long term or in cases of severe voice disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Esthetic Dentistry
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.103-117
• /
• 2020

A beautiful smile has a great impact on the quality of life. It gives you confidence, and makes you function with a positive attitude, which will eventually bring the joy and happiness to daily lives. As dental practitioners, our mission is to bring back the bright smile of the people who come to see us. Restoring masticatory function is one thing but one should always remember that the esthetics should always come first in any kind of restorative procedures. When treating complex rehabilitation cases, treatment planning is probably the most important step before you start any dental procedures. Obviously, esthetics should be the ultimate goal of the treatment and one should approach a case step by step to achieve an optimal result. For the past few years, "digital smile design" has been introduced in the field of dentistry. It can be applied by using various methods and tools. In this article, a very basic form of 2-dimensional digital smile designing was utilized to treat a complete mouth rehabilitation case. We will discuss how the DSD concept can be applied to your daily practice with a simple photograph and photoshop.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.106-113
• /
• 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate the analgesic efficacy of an erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) with a tissue expander. Methods: Adult women undergoing IBR with a tissue expander after mastectomy were randomly assigned to either intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) alone (group P) or IV-PCA plus ESPB (group E). The primary outcome was the total amount of opioid consumption during 24 hours postoperatively between the two groups. Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction, pain score at rest and on shoulder movement using numerical rating scale, incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and a short form of the brief pain inventory (BPI-SF) at 3 and 6 months after surgery between the groups. Results: Fifty eight patients completed the study. At 24 hours postoperatively, total opioid consumption was significantly less in group E than in group P (285.0 ± 92.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 250.1 to 320.0 vs. 223.2 ± 83.4, 95% CI: 191.5 to 254.9, P = 0.005). Intraoperative and cumulative PCA fentanyl consumption at 3, 6, 9, and 24 hours were also less in group E than in group P (P = 0.004, P = 0.048, P = 0.020, P = 0.036, and P < 0.001, respectively). Patient satisfaction was higher in group E (6.9 ± 1.8 vs. 7.8 ± 1.4, P = 0.042). The incidences of PONV was similar. Conclusions: The ESPB decreased postoperative opioid consumption and increased patient satisfaction without significant complications after IBR with a tissue expander after mastectomy.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.836-844
• /
• 2020

In modern society, there is a growing demand for human tissue donation along with organ donation. However, the awareness of tissue donation and actual donation rates remain very low in South Korea. This study was undertaken to evaluate the current status of domestic laws and systems, and to compare them with the operation systems of major foreign countries, by reviewing literature and web sites of organ donation and registration. The authors present three measures to promote human tissue donation in Korea: integration of a dual legal system in a legal aspect, vitalization of the Opt-out system in terms of system operation, and activation of public relations in terms of social and cultural aspects. The Opt-out system, in particular, is the most effective way to activate transplants in the form of presumed consent of countries without undue pressure. However, the presumed consent method requires various stages of social public debate, and the requirement is a proper domestic understanding of the registration system for rejection. In conclusion, we believe the solution towards a positive inclination for organ donation is a public policy to increase the supply for organs and human tissue transplants, and positive perception of donations, public promotion, and support for postmortem donors and their families.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.555-564
• /
• 2021

Thalamus is known to play an important role in the regulation of nerve function. Thalamus, located in the center of the brain, is involved in sleep, arousal, and emotional regulation, and has been reported to be associated with multiple sclerosis, essential tremors, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. In addition, it has been reported that iron deposits in the thalamus can cause depressive symptoms with age. Although there are discrepancies between studies, it can be deduced that the thalamus region has a clear effect on neurological disorders due to a strong relationship between the thalamus and neurological functions such as emotional control and processing. Through tractography analysis, the connectivity between the detailed areas of each subcortical region was investigated in the form of a matrix, showing strong connectivity and weak interhemispheric connectivity. In the 59> group, the WM connectivity of thalamus was found to be weaker than those of the two groups. Comparisons between the two groups showed that the young groups (10-39 and 40-59) had higher connection intensity than the 59> group and that statistically significant differences in 3 connection pathways were found in each hemisphere. A decrease in thalamus-related connection strength in aging has shown that it can affect emotional and neurological disorders such as anxiety and depression, and network measurements can help assess cognitive impairment across clinical conditions.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.21 no.8
• /
• pp.367-375
• /
• 2021

The quality of medical care can be defined as four types such as effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, and scientific-technical quality. For the management of scientific-technical aspects, medical institutions annually disseminate the latest knowledge in the form of conservative education. However, there is an obvious limit to the fact that the latest knowledge is distributed quickly enough to the clinical site with only one-time conservative education. If intelligent information processing technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence are applied to the medical field, they can overcome the limitations of having to conduct research with only a small amount of information. In this paper, we construct databases on which the existing medicine prescription adaptations can be extended. To do this, we collect, store, manage, and analyze information related to oriental medicine at domestic and abroad Journals. We design a processing and analysis technique for oriental medicine evidence research data for the construction of a database of oriental medicine prescription extended adaption. Results can be used as a basic content of evidence-based medicine prescription information in the oriental medicine-related decision support services.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
• /
• v.60 no.3
• /
• pp.276-282
• /
• 2022

Close communication between clinicians and dental technicians is an important factor in providing successful prostheses. The exchange of opinions with laboratories has mainly been in the form of written prescriptions and a photos, but it has been reported that information transmission may be limited. Currently, as digital technology-based prosthesis fabrication is common, 3D image objects can be stored on the web and can be easily viewed through a mobile web browser. In this article, we introduce cases where the design of the prosthesis was improved by designing the prosthesis using CAD software and reviewing the prosthesis designed with the clinical side through a web viewer. Through this protocol, it was possible to improve the occlusal surface and crown contour, the opposing teeth condition, the size of the gingival embrasure, and the shape of pontic. The process of sharing, discussing, and modifying the prosthesis design with the clinician and technician through a web viewer contributes to reflecting the diversity of oral conditions and individualized needs, thereby helping to make functional and esthetic prostheses.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.329-339
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study was to compare the palatal dimensions (volume, width, length, and height) in different malocclusions (Class I, II, and III) in mixed dentition using a three-dimensional digital scanner. The study was performed on 30 selected casts from 1400 casts that were taken at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Dankook University. Casts consisted of Class I, II, and III malocclusion groups in Hellman's dental age IIIA. The mean age was 8 years and 6 months ± 11 months. Each cast was scanned by three-dimensional digital scanner, Medit T710 (Medit, Seoul, Korea), and shaped into the three-dimensional image and calculated palatal dimensions using the Plan T program (SMD solution, Seoul, Korea). The values were statistically compared and evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis followed by the Mann-Whitney test. According to our results, subjects with Class II malocclusion showed lower palatal width and longer palatal length compared to those with Class I and Class III. For palatal height, Class III malocclusion subjects in mixed dentition exhibited a larger number than Class II and Class I. Lastly, for palatal volume, compared to other malocclusions, Class III showed higher results; however, there were no significant differences. The form of the palate differs in types of malocclusions and understanding of these differences is important in clinical significance. Based on this study, the understanding of the relationship between the shape of the palate and the skeletal pattern provides useful information about orthodontic treatment plans, early diagnosis of malocclusion, and morphological integration mechanisms. Orthopedic treatment in the maxilla should be performed during early and intermediate mixed dentition to enhance treatment efficiency.