• Development and Reproduction
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.461-467
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• 2013

Nesfatin-1/NUCB2, which is associated with the control of appetite and energy metabolism, was reported for the first time to be expressed in the hypothalamus. However, recent studies have shown that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 was expressed not only in the hypothalamus, but also in various tissues including digestive and reproductive organs. We also demonstrated that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 was expressed in the reproductive organs, pituitary gland, heart, lung, and gastrointestinal tract of the adult mouse. However, little is known about nesfatin-1/NUCB2 expression in fetal and neonatal mice. Therefore, we examined here the distribution of nesfatin-1/NUCB2 in various organs of fetal and neonatal mice and compared them with the distribution in adult mice. As a result of immunohistochemical staining, nesfatin-1/NUCB2 protein was expressed relatively higher in the lung, kidney, heart, and liver compared to other organs in the fetus. Western blot results also showed that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 protein was detected in the lung, kidney, heart, and stomach. Next, we compared the expression levels of nesfatin-1/NUCB2 mRNA in the fetus and neonate with the expression levels in both male and female adult mice. The expression levels in heart, lung, stomach, and kidney were higher compared with other organs in fetal and neonatal mice and in both male and female adult mice. Interestingly, the expression of nesfatin-1/NUCB2 mRNA in the kidney was dramatically increased in male and female adult mice compared to fetal and neonatal mice. These results indicate that nesfatin-1/NUCB2 may regulate the development and physiological function of mouse organs. In the future, we need more study on the function of nesfatin-1/NUCB2, which is highly expressed in the heart, lung, and kidney during mouse development.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.495-501
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• 2006

Diagnostics of unborn baby is mainly aimed at prediction and detection of occurrence of intrauterine hypoxia. Consequences resulting from fetal hypoxia appear in its heart activity. In this study, we have developed a new non-invasive system for fetal hypoxia diagnosis which provides systolic time interval(STI) parameters on the basis of analysis of electrical and mechanical heart activity together. For this we have worked on 1) the proper lead system for the acquisition of abdominal ECG, 2) the independent component analysis based signal processing and fetal ECG separation, 3) the development of a hardware which consists of an abdominal ECG amplifying module and an ultrasound module and 4) the detection of characteristic points of FECG and Doppler signal and the extraction of diagnostic parameters. The developed system was evaluated by the clinical experiments in which 33 subjects were participated. The acquired STI by the system were distributed within the ranges from the well-established invasive results of other researchers. From this, we can conclude that the developed non-invasive fetal hypoxia diagnosis system is useful.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.328-334
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• 2012

Continuous fetal heart beat monitoring has assisted clinicians in assuring fetal well-being during antepartum and intrapartum. Fetal heart rate (FHR) is an important parameter of fetal health during pregnancy. The Doppler ultrasound is one of very useful methods that can non-invasively measure FHR. Although it has been commonly used in clinic, inaccurate heart rate reading has not been completely resolved.. The objective of this study is to improve detection algorithm of FHR from Doppler ultrasound signal with simple method. We modified autocorrelation function to enhance signal periodicity and adopted adaptive window size and shifted for data segment to be analysed. The proposed method was applied to real measured data, and it was verified that beat-to-beat FHR estimation result was comparable with the reference fetal ECG data. This simple and effective method is expected to be implemented in the embedded system.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1023-1030
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• 1999

This is a retrospective study of 42 pregnancies from 33 women with prosthetic heart valves who were on anticoagulation regimen prior to or during their pregnancy. Material and Method: Of the 17 women with bioprosthesis, 15 had 21 pregnancies following cessation of the anticoagulation therapy which resulted in the delivery of 20 healthy babies and 1 abortion. Remaining 2 had 3 pregnancies maintained with heparin, resulting in 2 healthy babies and 1 spontaneous abortion. Result: Among 16 women with mechanical heart valves, there were 7 pregnancies during which warfarin was used and this was associated with 4 fetal wastages(2 therapeutic abortion, 1 spontaneous abortion and 1 stillbirth with cerebral hemorrhage). However, in pregnancies where heparin was used, there was no fetal wastage. A patient who did not take anticoagulant for the first trimester and took warfarin for the remaining period and a patient who did not take anticoagulant during pregnancy delivered normal babies. There was an other fetal wastage in a patient on anti-platelet therapy for the first trimester and warfarin therapy for the remaining periods. There was 1 minor petechial complication in a heparin administered group. Conclusion: The study indicates that woman with bioprosthetic heart valves can go through pregnancy without undue risks or complications. On the other hand, the use of warfarin during pregnancy in women with mechanical heart valves, was shown to be associated with unacceptable high risk for the fetus. However, in the same group of women, judicious use of heparin during pregnancy was accompanied by a much reduced risk. The safety and adequate therapeutic range of heparin usage under such circumstances are subject to further studies.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.198-205
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• 2005

In this paper, we proposed a new algorithm for the separation of fetal ECG from single channel abdominal ECG. The algorithm consists of a stage of demixing vector calculation for initial signal and a stage of fetal beat detection for the rest of signal. The demixing vector was obtained by applying independent component analysis technique to projected signals into time-frequency domain. For the test of this algorithm, simulation signals, De Lathauwer's data and some measured data, which was acquired from 8 healthy volunteers whose pregnant periods ranged from 22 weeks to 35 weeks and whose ages from 27 to 37, were used. For each data, the accuracy of fetal beat detection was $100\%$ and with the location of fetal beats, fetal heart rate variability and morphology could be offered. In conclusion, this proposed algorithm showed the possibility of fetal beat separation with a single channel abdominal ECG and it might be adopted to a fetal health monitoring system, by which a single channel abdominal ECG is acquired.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.157-174
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• 2018

Objectives : The objective of this research is to look deeper into the thoughts of Sajudang in her book on fetal education, Taegyoshin-gi(TGSG), published in the early 19th century Joseon, which focused on her understanding of human development and bodily relationship the mother has with her child with comparison to Korean Medical texts. Methods : The characteristics of TGSG were laid out with comparison to previous texts on fetal education of both China and Korea. After this, they were closely cross-examined with Korean Medical thoughts on human creation, mother-child relationship, and mind-body relationship. Results : Sajudang's thoughts on fetal education as written in TGSG, show a deep understanding of human development and the father and mother's roles in it, expanding the responsibility of fetal education from just the mother to both father and mother. There is also awareness of the importance of the Heart that is at the center of the fetal education process, and of the mother-child relationship through blood. Conclusions : Fetal education as discussed in TGSG expands from previous discourses on the topic, distinguishing itself with thorough understanding of how fetal education works, when it begins, and what the roles of the parents and the community are. This attributes to Sajudang's knowledge that came from both books and her actual experiences.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.202-208
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• 2012

Fetal heart rate monitoring is important information to assess fetal well-being. Non-invasive fetal ECG (electrocardiography) can be derived from maternal abdominal signal. And various promising signal processing methods have been introduced to extract fetal ECG from mother's composite abdominal signal. However, non-invasive fetal ECG monitoring still has not been widely used in clinical practice due to insufficient reliable measurement and difficulty of signal processing. In application of signal processing method to extract fetal ECG, it might be lower signal to noise ratio due to time varying white Gaussian noise. In this paper, time varying Kalman smoother is proposed to remove white noise in fetal ECG and its feasibility is confirmed. Wiener process was set as Kalman system model and covariance matrix was modified according to white Gaussian noise level. Modified error covariance matrix changed Kalman gain and degree of smoothness. Optimal covariance matrix according to various amplitude in Gaussian white noise was extracted by 5 channel fetal ECG model, and feasibility of proposed method could be confirmed.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.211.1-211
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• 2000

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.121-122
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• 2021

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.150-156
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• 2012

Purpose: The main purposes of this study were to assess maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) of the expectant mothers of a fetus with a prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) and to identify factors associated with MFA. Methods: The methodology was a cross sectional survey study using a self-administered questionnaire. Thirty pregnant women carrying a fetus with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD and 30 pregnant women with a normal fetus were enrolled in this study. The MFA Scale and PPS (The Prenatal Psychosocial Profile) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 Window version. Descriptive statistics, $X^2$-test and t-test were used to compare the two groups. The factors associated with MFA were identified by multiple regression analysis. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in MFA and social support from spouse was the only variable showing a significant difference. The model from the multiple regression analysis explained 33.8% of MFA for both groups. Conclusion: MFA of expectant mothers with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD and of mothers with a normal fetus were not significantly different. It is important that health care providers encourage expectant fathers to support the expectant mothers to increase MFA.