• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 제어로봇시스템학회 2005년도 ICCAS
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• pp.1651-1656
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• 2005

This paper describes a natural frequency analysis conducted to find out a suitable working area for a spring-manipulator system generating a large vibrating force with mechanical resonance. Large force generation is one of the functions that we hope for a robot. For example, a weeding robot is required to generate a large force, because some weeds have roots spreading deeply and tightly. The spring-manipulator system has a spring element as an end-effector, so it can be in a state of resonance with the elasticity of the spring element and the inertial characteristics of the manipulator. A force generation method utilizing the mechanical resonance has potential to produce a large force that cannot be realized by a static method. A method for calculating a natural frequency of a spring-manipulator system with the generalized inertia tensor is proposed. Then the suitable working area for the spring-manipulator system is identified based on a natural frequency analysis. If a spring-manipulator system operates in the suitable working area, it can sustain mechanical resonance and generate a large vibrating force. Moreover, it is shown that adding a mass at the tip of the manipulator expands the suitable working area.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제12권6호
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• pp.240-246
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• 2012

Natural killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in early surveillance against virus infection and cellular transformation, and are also implicated in the control of inflammatory response through their effector functions of direct lysis of target cells and cytokine secretion. NK cell activation toward target cell is determined by the net balance of signals transmitted from diverse activating and inhibitory receptors. A distinct feature of NK cell activation is that stimulation of resting NK cells with single activating receptor on its own cannot mount natural cytotoxicity. Instead, specific pairs of co-activation receptors are required to unleash NK cell activation via synergy- dependent mechanism. Because each co-activation receptor uses distinct signaling modules, NK cell synergy relies on the integration of such disparate signals. This explains why the study of the mechanism underlying NK cell synergy is important and necessary. Recent studies revealed that NK cell synergy depends on the integration of complementary signals converged at a critical checkpoint element but not on simple amplification of the individual signaling to overcome intrinsic activation threshold. This review focuses on the signaling events during NK cells activation and recent advances in the study of NK cell synergy.

• BMB Reports
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• 제45권12호
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• pp.686-692
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• 2012

Phenotypic analysis of gene-specific knockout (KO) mice has revolutionized our understanding of in vivo gene functions. As the use of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells is inevitable for conventional gene targeting, the generation of knockout mice remains a very time-consuming and expensive process. To accelerate the large-scale production and phenotype analyses of KO mice, international efforts have organized global consortia such as the International Knockout Mouse Consortium (IKMC) and International Mouse Phenotype Consortium (IMPC), and they are persistently expanding the KO mouse catalogue that is publicly available for the researches studying specific genes of interests in vivo. However, new technologies, adopting zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) or Transcription Activator-Like Effector (TALE) Nucleases (TALENs) to edit the mouse genome, are now emerging as valuable and effective shortcuts alternative for the conventional gene targeting using ES cells. Here, we introduce the recent achievement of IKMC, and evaluate the significance of ZFN/TALEN technology in mouse genetics.

• 생약학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.233-239
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• 1991

Phellinus linteus was examined for its anticancer activity using an animal model. Water extract of Phellinus linteus was prepared from artificially cultivated mycelia. Neither toxicity nor abnormal changes of hematological parameters were observed in the rat given orally with high doses of drug extract for 15 days. ICR mice were transplanted with Sarcoma-180 tumor cells intraperitoneally and drug extract was daily given to the mice from 1 day after tumer transplantation for 3 weeks. Administration of drug extract significantly prolonged the survival duration of Sarcoma 180-transplanted mice. For the better understanding of the anticancer activity, we have examined the effect of the drug extract administration on various killer cell functions, such as natural killer(NK) cells, cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) and macrophages which have been known to be main effector cells in immune responses against tumors. The results from the 4 hr $^{51}Cr-release$ assay have shown that the drug extract augments mouse NK cell activity but neither CTL nor macrophages. It is possible, then, that the anticancer activity of the Phellinus linteus may be associated with augmentation of NK cell function in the cancerated hosts.

• 대한물리의학회지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.101-109
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study investigates the therapeutic effect of a prototype of a hand rehabilitation device based on magnetic forces. METHODS: Using an electromagnet and permanent magnets, we developed an end effector type device that induces various movements of the finger in accordance with the magnetic field direction. A total of 26 subacute stroke patients were enrolled and assigned to two groups in this randomized controlled trial. The intervention group received 30 minutes hand rehabilitation therapy per day for 4 weeks, using the device developed by us. Conventional physical therapies were conducted equally twice a day, 30 minutes per session, during the same period in both groups. RESULTS: After 4 weeks, rate of the Wolf Motor Function Test as a primary outcome measure showed significant improvement in the intervention group as compared to control group(p = .036). Scores of the Manual Function Test and Fugl-Meyer Assessment of upper limb were also significantly increased in the intervention group as compared to control group(p = .038 and p = .042, respectively). Moreover, the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index tended to improve after subjecting to physical therapy in both groups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the novel hand rehabilitation device developed using a magnetic force, improves the hand motor functions and activities of daily life in subacute stroke patients.

• 한국정밀공학회지
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.599-605
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• 2011

A 3-D rehabilitation robot system is developed. The robot system is for the rehabilitation of upper extremities, especially the shoulder and elbow joints, and has 3-D workspace for occupational therapy to recover physical functions in activities of daily living(ADL). The rehabilitation robot system has 1 DOF in horizontal rotational motion and 2 DOF in vertical rotational motion, where all actuators are set on the ground. Parallelogram linkage mechanisms lower the equivalent inertia of the control elements as well as control forces. Also the mechanisms have high mechanical rigidity for the end effector and the handle. In this paper, a hybrid position/force controller is used for controlling positions and forces simultaneously The controller is tuned according to the robot posture. The active motion modes for rehabilitation program consist of active-resisted motion mode and active-free motion mode. The results of the experiments show that the proposed motion modes provide the intended forces effectively.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.153-163
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• 2010

Periodontal disease, as a polymicrobial disease, is globally endemic as well as being a global epidemic. It is the leading cause for tooth loss in the adult population and has been positively related to life-threatening systemic diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes. As a result, it is clear that more sophisticated therapeutic modalities need to be developed, which may include vaccines. Up to now, however, no periodontal vaccine trial has been successful in satisfying all the requirements; to prevent the colonization of a multiple pathogenic biofilm in the subgingival area, to elicit a high level of effector molecules such as immunoglobulin sufficient to opsonize and phagocytose the invading organisms, to suppress the induced alveolar bone loss, or to stimulate helper T-cell polarization that exerts cytokine functions optimal for protection against bacteria and tissue destruction. This article reviews all the vaccine trials so as to construct a more sophisticated strategy which may be relevant in the future. As an innovative strategy to circumvent these barriers, vaccine trials to stimulate antigen-specific T-cells polarized toward helper T-cells with a regulatory phenotype (Tregs, $CD_{4+}$, $CD_{25+}$, $FoxP_{3+}$) have also been introduced. Targeting not only a single pathogen, but polymicrobial organisms, and targeting not only periodontal disease, but also periodontal disease-triggered systemic disease could be a feasible goal.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제6권9호
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• pp.796-802
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• 2000

A master-slave system for teleoperation is usually used to control the robor's motion on remote place such as abyss, outer space etc.. When the slave robot is a humanoid one, it can make a better performance if the configuration of the master arm is similar to that of the slave arm and of the human. The master arm proposed in this paper has a type to be put on the human arm, that is, the exoskeleton type, and has a combination of serial joint and parallel mechanism imitating the human's arm structure of muscles and bones, so called hybrid mechanism so that it can follow arm's movement effectively. But it is easy to solve the forward kinematis of the parallel structure because relating equations are implicit functions. In order to solve that, the virtual joint angle corresponding to human arm's joint is introduced and a sequential computation step is employed in calculating virtual joint angles and the posture of the end effector. Also validity is checked up through computational simulation.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.359-366
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• 2023

In order to fully utilize the functions of the hand which is the end effector of the upper limb, other parts of the upper limb have to perform their own roles. Among them, the pronation and supination of the forearm, which allows the hand to rotate along the longitudinal direction of the forearm, play an important role in activities of daily living. In this paper, a soft wearable robot that assists the pronation and supination of the forearm for individuals with weakened or lost upper limb function is proposed. The wearable robot consists of an anchoring part with polymer (wrist strap, elbow strap), a tendon with a belt and wire, and an actuation module. It was developed based on the requirements with respect to friction of anchoring part, forearm compression, and friction of the tendon. It was confirmed that these requirements were satisfied through literature review and experiments. Since all components exist within the forearm when worn, it is expected to be easy to combine with the already developed soft wearable robots for the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.6.1-6.24
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• 2023

Intestinal microorganisms interact with various immune cells and are involved in gut homeostasis and immune regulation. Although many studies have discussed the roles of the microorganisms themselves, interest in the effector function of their metabolites is increasing. The metabolic processes of these molecules provide important clues to the existence and function of gut microbes. The interrelationship between metabolites and T lymphocytes in particular plays a significant role in adaptive immune functions. Our current review focuses on 3 groups of metabolites: short-chain fatty acids, bile acids metabolites, and polyamines. We collated the findings of several studies on the transformation and production of these metabolites by gut microbes and explained their immunological roles. Specifically, we summarized the reports on changes in mucosal immune homeostasis represented by the Tregs and Th17 cells balance. The relationship between specific metabolites and diseases was also analyzed through latest studies. Thus, this review highlights microbial metabolites as the hidden treasure having potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets through a comprehensive understanding of the gut-immune interaction.