• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.148-155
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• 2013

This study is about the development of the wrist rehabilitation system for the patient who has limited capability of movement after stroke. Electromyography triggered training system (ETTS) can play the role between complete passive training and patient activating training system. Surface EMG was measured on pronator teres muscle and biceps brachii muscle for wrist pronation and supination. Our system detects whether the subject makes muscular effort for pronation or supination or nothing in every 50 ms. When the effort level exceeds the preset percentage of maximal voluntary contraction, the motor rotates according to the direction of the intention of the subject. EMG triggers the motor rotation for the wrist rehabilitation training until the preset angle. To evaluate its performance, the maximum voluntary contraction level was measured for 4 subjects at first. With the audio-visual instruction to rotate the wrist (pronation or supination) the subjects made effort to follow the instruction. After calculating root mean square (RMS) for 50 ms, the controller determines whether there was muscular effort to rotate while holding the motor. When there was an effort to rotate, the controller rotates the motor 0.8 degree. By comparing the RMS values from two channels of EMG, the controller determines the rotational direction. The onset delay is $0.76{\pm}0.24$ s and offset delay is $0.65{\pm}0.22$ s for pronation. For supination the onset delay is $1.24{\pm}0.41$ s and offset delay is $0.77{\pm}0.22$ s. The system responded fast enough to be used for rehabilitation training. The controller perceived the direction of rotation 100% correctly for the pronation and 97.5% correctly for supination. ETTS was developed and the fundamental functions were validated for normal subjects. The clinical validation should be done with patients for real world application. With ETTS, the subjects can train voluntarily over the limitation of the range of motion which increases the effectiveness of the rehabilitation training.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.111-118
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• 2009

Puopose : Exposure to dietary phytoestrogens such as genistein during early childhood is a growing public health concern. We examined the effect of early exposure to genistein on sexual maturation in immature rats. Methods : Weaning (3wk-old) Sprague-Dawley female rats were assigned to three groups (n=6 for each): fed by high dose of genistein (100 mg/kg/d), low dose of genistein (10 mg/kg/d) and control group. First vaginal opening (VO) day was observed. Structural alterations in the ovary and uterus were assessed by histologically. Expression of genes of $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$, and progesterone receptor (PR) in the ovary and uterus were investigated by RT-PCR. Results : High genistein group had earlier VO than control and low genistein group. Graafian follicles and corpora lutea were observed from the ovary of genistein-treated groups, while primary, secondary follicles and small atretic follicles were observed in the control group. Hypertrophy of luminal and glandular uterine epithelia were found in the genistein-treated groups while poor development of gland and fewer myometrial cell layers were evident in control group. In ovary, the transcriptional activities of $ER{\alpha}$ and $ER{\beta}$ were higher in high genistein group than in controls. In uterus, the transcriptional activities of $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$ and PR were higher in low genistein group than in controls. Conclusion : Acute exposure to genistein during the prepubertal period could activate the reproductive endocrine system resulting in the early onset of puberty in female rats. Further clinical investigation on the effect of genistein on the sexual maturation in children is warranted.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2083-2087
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• 2014

Colorectal cancers remain to be a common cause of cancer-related death. Early-onset cases as well as those of various ethnic origins have aggressive clinical features, the basis of which requires further exploration. The aim of this work was to examine the expression patterns of $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4 in colorectal carcinoma of different ethnic origins. Fifty-five sporadic colorectal carcinoma of Egyptian origin, 25 of which were early onset, and 54 cancers of Finnish origin were immunohistochemically stained with antibodies against $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4 proteins. Data were compared to the methylation status of the $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor. $p15^{INK4b}$ was totally lost or deficient (lost in ${\geq}50%$ of tumor cell) in 47/55 (85%) tumors of Egyptian origin as compared to 6/50 (12%) tumors of Finnish origin (p=7e-15). In the Egyptian cases with $p15^{INK4b}$ loss and available $p15^{INK4b}$ promotor methylation status, 89% of cases which lost $p15^{INK4b}$ expression were associated with $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor hypermethylation. SMAD4 was lost or deficient in 25/54 (46%) tumors of Egyptian origin and 28/48 (58%) tumors of Finnish origin. 22/54 (41%) Egyptian tumors showed combined loss/deficiency of both $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4, while $p15^{INK4b}$ was selectively lost/deficient with positive SMAD4 expression in 24/54 (44%) tumors. Loss of $p15^{INK4b}$ was associated with older age at presentation (>50 years) in the Egyptian tumors (p=0.04). These data show for the first time that $p15^{INK4b}$ loss of expression marks a subset of colorectal cancers and ethnic origin may play a role in this selection. In a substantial number of cases, the loss was independent of SMAD4 but rather associated with $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor hypermethylation and old age which could be related to different environmental exposures.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2002

Background and Objective : Epileptic seizures are frequent complication of lobar hemorrhage. We investigated the factors affecting development of epilepsy following spontaneous lobar ICH. Methods : From January 1986 to July 1999, 114 patients were admitted to Chungnam National University Hospital with spontaneous lobar ICH. We analyzed 75 patients. Excluded were no follow-up(8 patients) and patients died within few days(31 patients). All the patient was followed up at least two years aside from two patients who underwent epileptic seizure and died five and eight months later each. Medical history was obtained through medical record and by telephone interview. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square test, Student's t - test, Fisher's exact test. Results : Seizure occurred in 19 patients. As three patients had previous history of seizures, 16 patients(22.2%) showed first onset early- and late-seizures. Early seizure occurred in 14 patients(19.4%). Three out of 14 were heavy alcoholics. Five patients developed late recurrent seizure 61 days to 800 days after the early seizure. Late seizure with no acute seizure occurred in two patients. The types of seizure were diverse as generalized tonic clonic seizure(10), partial seizure with secondary generalization(5), and complex partial seizure(1). The common risk factors for lobar ICH were hypertension(HT), arteriovenous malformation(AVM), and excessive use of alcohol. We could not find any causes in 23 patients. Although size of hematoma, age of onset, sex, incidence of HT or AVM were not different between patients with seizure and without seizure, the history of excessive alcohol drinking was more frequent in patients with seizure. Five patients with late recurrent seizure had ICH involving temporal area. Conclusions : This study suggests that the risk of seizure in patients with lobar ICH was increase in chronic alcoholics and patient with late recurrent seizure had ICH frequently involving temporal area.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.24-33
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• 2003

Background : Sequelae symptoms of peripheral facial palsy include not only partial recovery of the paretic muscles but contracture, spasm, synkinesis and atrophy which cause significant functional, esthetic, and psychosocial disturbances to the lives of patients. Objective : This study is to investigate the prevalence, time of onset, patient's self assessment on the degree of understanding of the sequelae and the association of the degree of palsy with the appearance of sequelae. Methods : 106 patients with peripheral facial palsy were sequentially interviewed and examined. Results : 29 patients(27.4%) of 106 patients showed sequelae symptoms, of whom 19 patients(65.5%) showed sequelae symptoms during 4 to 6 months after the onset of palsy. The degree of understanding on the sequelae at the time of interview showed improvement compared to that at the time of first consultation to any physician but not to reach an sufficient understanding. No relation between the degree of palsy and the appearance of sequelae was observed.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.228-233
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• 2007

Pear psylla, Caccopsylla pyricola (Homoptera: Psyllidae), is a serious insect pest in pear orchards. C. pyricola overwinters as adults under rough bark scales of pear trees. When the weather warms up in the spring, the overwintered adults become active, climb up to the tree branches, and inhabit on fruit twigs to lay eggs. This study was conducted to develop a forecasting model for the onset of upward-movement of overwintered C. pyricola adults to control them by timely spraying of petroleum oil. The adult population densities were observed under rough barks (B) and on fruit twigs (T) of pear trees. Relative upward-movement rates (R) were calculated as T/(B+T). Low threshold temperatures for the activation of overwintered C. pyricola adults were selected arbitrarily from 5 to $9^{\circ}C$ at a $1^{\circ}C$ interval. Then, the days (D) when daily maximum air temperatures were above each low threshold temperature were counted from 1 February until to the dates with R $\geq$ 0.8. The same methods were applied for the prediction of the first observation of eggs. The variation of coefficients (CV) for the mean Des were lowest with the low threshold temperature of $6^{\circ}C$. At this selected threshold temperature, the upward movement of C. pyricola adults occurred with 12 D and they started laying eggs with 25 D. In the field validation, the model outputs with the $6^{\circ}C$ threshold temperature reasonably well explained the observed data in Suwon and Cheonan in 2002. Practical usages of the model were also discussed.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.594-602
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• 2019

Objective : Although surgical intervention, such as percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), is the standard treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs), its effectiveness and safety are unclear. Therefore, this study compared the safety and efficacy of conservative treatment with that of PVP for acute OVCFs. Methods : Patients with single-level OVCFs who were treated conservatively with a transdermal fentanyl patch (TFP) or with PVP between March 2013 and December 2017 and followed-up for more than 1 year were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with pathologic fractures, fractures of more than two columns, or a history of PVP were excluded. Clinical outcomes (visual analog scale [VAS] scores) and radiographic factors were evaluated, including changes in the compression rate of the corresponding vertebral body at onset and after 12 months, sagittal Cobb angle at onset and after 6 and 12 months, and the incidence of adjacent compression fractures. Results : Of the 131 patients evaluated, 75 were treated conservatively using TFPs and 56 underwent PVP. We divided the patients into TFP and PVP groups. Their baseline characteristics (including sex, level of fracture, and bone mineral density T-scores) were similar, but the TFP group was significantly younger. The overall VAS score for pain showed a greater decrease during the first month (1 week after PVP) in the PVP group but remained similar in the two groups thereafter. The compression rate after 12 months increased in the TFP group but decreased in the PVP group. Five patients in the PVP group, but none in the TFP group, experienced adjacent compression fractures within 12 months. Conclusion : We compared clinical and radiological outcomes between the TFP and PVP groups. The immediate pain reduction effect was superior in the PVP group, but the final clinical outcome was similar. Although the PVP group had a better-preserved compression rate than the TFP group for 1 year, the development of adjacent fractures was significantly higher. Although TFPs seemed to be beneficial in reducing the failure rate of conservative treatment, the possibility of side effects (22.6%, 17 out of 75 patients, in this study) should be carefully monitored.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.165-175
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• 2019

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the emotional characteristics of the patients within one year after stroke using the Core Seven Emotions Inventory-Short Form. Methods: It analyzed the medical records of 39 stroke patients who had visited W University hospital and completed the Core Seven-Emotions Inventory-Short Form (CSEI-S), the K-MBI, the PWI-SF, and the HADS. Patients data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, frequency analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the nonparametric test of the CSEI according to the period of stroke onset in patients and Spearman's correlation analysis using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science, IBM, United States of America) Version 23.0. Results: First, in the case of depression, all subjects were in the danger group, although more than half of the joy, anger, thinking, sadness and fear were included in the normal group in the shortening of the key seven-point scale. Secondly, in measuring the social and psychological stress and hospital anxiety and depression, social and psychological stress were indicated to be a potential danger group, while anxiety and depression were shown to be a healthy group. Thirdly, the emotional characteristics were explored according to the sub-factor of the shortening of the key seven-figure emotional scale after being classified within two months, between two and six months and over six months depending on the duration of the outbreak. As a result, statistically significant, Joy was the highest score over six months and the lowest score between two and six months. On the other hand, the case of depression was depicted to be significantly lower at over six months, and was highest between two and six months. Finally, the correlations on each scale were statistically significant. Conclusions: This study provided that the CSEI-S can be used to simply to measure the emotions of patients according to the period of the onset of stroke in the clinical scene.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.197-234
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• 2009

Typological theories of offending postulate that childhood-onset delinquents have a high likelihood of being serious and chronic offenders and that there are a distinct set of risk factors predicting early-onset antisocial behaviors. It is useful to empirically classify children into subgroups based on their deviant behaviors because it helps us to identify unique factors associated with each subgroup. Using the first two waves of the Korean Youth Panel Survey, Elementary School Data, this study aimed(a) to empirically classify 5th graders into latent delinquent subgroups, and (b) to examine the impact of individual, familiar, school, and peer factors on the latent delinquent classes. Latent class analysis yielded three latent classes based on 15 indicators of deviant behaviors - delinquent class, low-level delinquent class, & normative class. The results from multivariate multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that being male, reporting low self-control, coming from poor family, high association with deviant peers, and being bullied increased the risk of being in the delinquent class. Moreover, low self-control, aggression, domestic violence, low level of attachment to teachers, and deviant peers independently increased the risk of being in the low-level delinquent class compared to the normative class. Based on the study findings, implications for practice as well as future studies were discussed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3 s.71
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• pp.207-215
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• 2007

Objectives : The objective of this study was to assess whether there were sex differences in stroke types, risk factors, warning signs, and stroke complications among patients with first-ever stroke. Methods : Six-hundred seventy six patients with first-ever stroke were recruited at the Department Cardiovascular and Neurologic Diseases (Stroke center) of KyungHee University Oriental Hospital, DongGuk University International Hospital, and Kyungwon University In-cheon Oriental Medical Hospital from September 2005 to June 2007. Patients were hospitalized within 28 days after the onset of stroke. We investigated their stroke types, ischemic stroke subtypes by TOAST classification, risk factors, warning signs, stroke complications, general characteristics such as age, sex, etc. Results : Overall, 347 patients were male and 279 female. Compared with males, female patients were significantly older (mean age 67.3${\pm}$1.1 versus 62.4${\pm}$1.6 years) (P=0.000). We did not find significant sex differences in stroke types or ischemic stroke subtypes by TOAST classification. History of hypertension was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.000). Among stroke complications, urinary tract infection was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.003). Among warning signs, blepharospasm was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.006). Conclusions : Knowledge of sex differences of stroke patients can help us gain better insights on the characteristics of stroke patients. We need further and larger scale research to acquire more concrete conclusions on this theme.