• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.217-226
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• 2009

Effects of sera from several fish species on monolayer formation, viability and functions of catfish hepatocytes were investigated to establish a primary hepatocyte culture system for screening endocrine disruptors. Hepatocytes of Korean catfish (Silurus asotus) were attached and formed monolayer using the media supplemented with their own serum or sera from eel and tilapia, but not with fetal bovine serum (FBS). The amount of fish sera (0.5~3%) for monolayer culture of the catfish hepatocytes was less than 1/10 of FBS (5~20%) that is commonly used for primary culture of hepatocytes of other species. The results indicate that FBS can be replaced with sera from some fish species and the fish sera are more effective than FBS in maintaining the shape and functions of the hepatocytes. The primary culture of catfish hepatocytes was maintained monolayer with fish sera for at least 10 days, which makes possible to be used for screening the activities of endocrine disruptors. In conclusion, the primary culture system of hepatocytes with fish sera in the present study could be a useful tool for screening and studying endocrine disruptors.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the level of burden and social support of mothers with Cerebral Palsy (CP) children, and to determine whether providing social support is an effective strategy to relieve the burden of those mothers. Method: From October to November 2007, the data were collected from 63 mothers with CP children who were admitted and treated for CP at Y rehabilitation center in Seoul. The data were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's test, Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, and Stepwise Multiple Regression using SPSS 12.0. Results: Burden of mothers was related to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) of the CP children. Social support was negatively correlated and GMFCS was positively correlated with burden of mothers. Social support and GMFCS was statistically significantly related with burden of mothers with CP children by multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: There was a significantly negative correlation between social support and burden. It demonstrated that social support, an important factor relating to burden imposed on mothers of CP children, can be considered as an intervening variable which can contribute to decrease of burden. In addition, applying developmental screening measures are needed to decrease disability severity.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.117-125
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• 1997

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated glutamatergic neurotransmission is involved in synaptic plasticity, developmental processes, learning and memory and many neuropathological disorders including age-related diseases. In the present study, regulation of the NMDA receptor properties by various ligands was investigated using $[^3H]MK-801$ binding studies in the synaptic membranes of young and aged rat forebrains. The binding in the presence of glutamate and glycine increased dramatically with growth between 1 and 6 weeks old, and thereafter declined gradually with aging. Glutamate, glycine or spermine respectively increased the binding with growth. Glutamate maintained the binding during aging, while glycine or spermine significantly decreased the binding in the aged brain. The maximum stimulation by glycine varied depending on the ages of brains. Greater sensitivity to glycine was observed at 1 week and 3 months and the sensitivity was significantly reduced in the aged brain. In contrast, spermine showed similar stimulation patterns in young and aged rats. These results indicated that the functional properties of the NMDA receptor-ion channel complex in young and aged rat forebrains are differentially regulated by agonists, and the reduction of the receptor function with normal aging may be, in some degree, due to the reduction of the receptor sensitivity to glycine.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.286-292
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• 2009

We have constructed a cDNA library using brain samples of olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Here, we described the study on gene identification by screening 356 clones from the brain cDNA library of olive flounder. Here, we screened 356 clones from the library to identify genes. Of these, 176 (49.5%) were identified as orthologs of known genes from olive flounder and other organisms. Among the 176 EST clones, 33 (18.7%) represented 11 unique genes that are identical to expressed sequence tags (ESTs) reported for olive flounder, and 120 (68.2%) represented 102 unique genes known from other organisms. The percentage of unknown genes (50.5%) is higher than in other olive flounder cDNA libraries (Lee et al., 2003, 2006, 2007), reflecting the high complexity of brain tissue. Further studies of expression characterization and developmental behavior related to these genes should provide useful insight into the physiological functions of the brain in olive flounder.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.511-518
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• 2001

This study is to identify the characteristics of the growth and deveolpment, and to assess Obesity Index, BMI and Kaup Index of infants paticipated in a healthy breast-feeding contest. The subjects of this study were 94 breast- feeding infants, ages from 6 to 8 months. Their weight and height were measured and compared with Korean Standards. Their developmental state was tested by DDST(Denver Develop- mental Screening Test) standardized in Korea. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS-WIN 10.0. The result is as follows : 1. The weight of infants was more than Korean Standards, but the height was less. 2. There were statistically significant differences in Obesity Index, BMI and Kaup Index. Obese infants estimated by Obesity Index were about 10％, but by BMI and Kaup Index were 35.1％ and 27.7％. 3. Spearman's rhos of Obesity Index and Kaup Index, Obesity Index and BMI, and Kaup Index and BMI were individually 0.526, 0.528 and 0.753. In conclusion, BMI should be added to the criteria for assessing healthy breast-feeding infants.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.246-254
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• 2014

Purpose: This study aims to provide baseline data on children's health care and household safety management in one region and to support implementation of customized visiting health care services for children. Methods: 51 children and their caregivers from socially vulnerable group and 69 children and their caregivers from general group are selected as research participants. Data were collected through home visiting survey by 10 professional nurses. Results: Children from socially vulnerable group are at higher risks of poor health care and safety accidents in households than general group. Rates of taking developmental screening tests, medical check-up remain considerably low in vulnerable social group. Regarding home safety, vulnerable children are more likely to be exposed to unsafe conditions. Conclusion: These results indicate that in order to promote health care and safety conditions for vulnerable children, it is necessary to implement customized visiting health care programs which actually can reach vulnerable households and meet their demands. These findings can be used as baseline data to develop customized visiting health care programs for children.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2015

Purpose: This study investigated the relationships of handwriting legibility and perceptual-motor skills, and handwriting speed and perceptual-motor skills. And identified the predictors that most affect the handwriting of preschool children. Methods: Twenty-three typically developing preschool aged children (mean age: 68.61 months, SD=2.04) were selected through the Korean-Denver Developmental Screening Test-2(K-DDST-2). The children were tested with regard to handwriting legibility, visual perception, visual-motor integration and fine-motor coordination. Results: First, a significant relationship was not found among handwriting legibility, visual perception, visual-motor integration and fine-motor coordination. Second, a significant relationship was found among handwriting speed, visual perception and fine-motor coordination. Third, stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that general visual perception were significant predictors for handwriting speed. Conclusion: Occupational therapists should evaluate children's visual perception levels utilizing a standardized test, and focus on general visual perception in order to improve handwriting skill(speed). Also, occupational therapists are expected to play an important role in the management and treatment of children's handwriting skills.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.67-70
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• 2001

Medicago truncatula is a diploid legume plant related to the forage crop alfalfa. Recently, it has been chosen as a model species for genomic studies due to its small genome, self-fertility, short generation time, and high transformation efficiency. M. truncatula engages in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing soil bacterium Rhizobium meliloti. M. truncatula mutants that are defective in nodulation and developmental processes have been generated. Some of these mutants exhibited altered phenotypes in symbiotic responses such as root hair deformation, expression of nodulin genes, and calcium spiking. Thus, the genes controlling these traits are likely to encode functions that are required for Nod-factor signal transduction pathways. To facilitate genome analysis and map-based cloning of symbiotic genes, a bacterial artificial chromosome library was constructed. An efficient polymerase chain reaction-based screening of the library was devised to fasten physical mapping of specific genomic regions. As a genomics approach, comparative mapping revealed high levels of macro- and microsynteny between M. truncatula and other legume genomes. Expressed sequence tags and microarray profiles reflecting the genetic and biochemical events associated with the development and environmental interactions of M. truncatula are assembled in the databases. Together, these genomics programs will help enrich our understanding of the legume biology.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.10
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• pp.497-503
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• 2021

Reading disability (dyslexia) refers to an unexpected difficulty with reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. Dyslexia is most commonly caused by a difficulty in phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell. In this paper, I describe reading disabilities by focusing on their underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Neurobiological studies using functional brain imaging have uncovered the reading pathways, brain regions involved in reading, and neurobiological abnormalities of dyslexia. The reading pathway is in the order of visual analysis, letter recognition, word recognition, meaning (semantics), phonological processing, and speech production. According to functional neuroimaging studies, the important areas of the brain related to reading include the inferior frontal cortex (Broca's area), the midtemporal lobe region, the inferior parieto-temporal area, and the left occipitotemporal region (visual word form area). Interventions for dyslexia can affect reading ability by causing changes in brain function and structure. An accurate diagnosis and timely specialized intervention are important in children with dyslexia. In cases in which national infant development screening tests have been conducted, as in Korea, if language developmental delay and early predictors of dyslexia are detected, careful observation of the progression to dyslexia and early intervention should be made.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.613-623
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• 2022

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder associated with cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders. It affects the person's behavior and performance. Autism affects verbal and non-verbal communication in social interactions. Early screening and diagnosis of ASD are essential and helpful for early educational planning and treatment, the provision of family support, and for providing appropriate medical support for the child on time. Thus, developing automated methods for diagnosing ASD is becoming an essential need. Herein, we investigate using various machine learning methods to build predictive models for diagnosing ASD in children using facial images. To achieve this, we used an autistic children dataset containing 2936 facial images of children with autism and typical children. In application, we used classical machine learning methods, such as support vector machine and random forest. In addition to using deep-learning methods, we used a state-of-the-art method, that is, automated machine learning (AutoML). We compared the results obtained from the existing techniques. Consequently, we obtained that AutoML achieved the highest performance of approximately 96% accuracy via the Hyperpot and tree-based pipeline optimization tool optimization. Furthermore, AutoML methods enabled us to easily find the best parameter settings without any human efforts for feature engineering.