• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.194-200
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• 2018

Objectives : The significance of leukoaraiosis on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is uncertain, but it is often seen with vascular risk factors or in the context of cognitive impairment. We aimed to investigate the effect of leukoaraiosis on the severity and course of delirium. Methods : Periventricular hyperintensity and deep white matter hyperintensity on brain MRI were rated in 42 patients with delirium by semiquantative visual rating scale. Correlations between their grades and the scores of Korean version of Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (K-DRS-R-98) were analyzed, and the interaction effects between the groups according to the levels of leukoaraiosis and two evaluation points were also analyzed. Results : The grade of deep white matter hyperintensity in the occipital lobe was positively correlated with the scores on the total, severity items, cognitive items, and non-cognitive items of K-DRS-R-98. The cognitive items scores of K-DRS-R-98 in the low grade group of periventricular hyperintensity showed significantly steeper decrease than the high grade group. Conclusions : A difference in severity or recovery speed of delirium according to the level of leukoaraiosis may result from disruption in brain functional connectivity. Our results have a clinical implication in that the severity and course of delirium can be possibly predicted using the level of leukoaraiosis.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.459-466
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• 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its complications are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Because of the side effects and incomplete recovery from current therapy, stem cell therapy emerges as a potential therapy for CVD treatment, and endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) is one of the key stem cells used for therapeutic applications. The effect of this therapy required the expansion of EPC function. To enhance the EPC activation, proliferation, and angiogenesis using dronedarone hydrochloride (DH) is the purpose of this study. DH received approval for atrial fibrillation treatment and its cardiovascular protective effects were already reported. In this study, DH significantly increased EPC proliferation, tube formation, migration, and maintained EPCs surface marker expression. In addition, DH treatment up-regulated the phosphorylation of AKT and reduced the reactive oxygen species production. In summary, the cell priming by DH considerably improved the functional activity of EPCs, and the use of which might be a novel strategy for CVD treatment.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 2021

Glucosylceramides (GluCer) are known to play an important role in both water retention and epidermal permeability barrier function in the mammalian stratum corneum. In this study, we investigated the effects of pineapple fruit extract containing glucosylceramides (PFEG) on the maintenance and recovery of skin barrier function using atopic dermatitis-induced animal models. Five-week-old male Hos:HR-1 mice were divided into four groups fed on standard diet, unsaturated fatty acids-deficient (HR-AD) diet, and HR-AD diet supplemented with 0.01% or 0.1% pineapple-GluCer. Skin barrier function was evaluated by transepidermal water loss (TEWL), dermal moisture content, moisture content of the stratum corneum and wrinkle formation. The control group (HR-AD administration group) showed increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL), while the epidermal moisture content and the moisture content of the stratum corneum slowly decreased. However, in the PFEG groups (with 0.1% or 0.01% glucosylceramide), the TEWL levels were significantly reduced at 2 weeks. The PFEG also helped maintain skin moisturizing function by significantly suppressing the decrease of the epidermal moisture content and the moisture content of the stratum corneum. These results show that the PFEG is effective for maintaining and improving the function of the skin barrier. Therefore, this study suggests that PFEG is a potential candidate material for skin functional foods.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.205-212
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• 2021

Offshore jacket structures generally comprise steel members, and the safety standard for jacket structures typically focuses on the steel components. However, large amounts of concrete grouting is filled in the legs of the Gageocho jacket structure to aid in the recovery from typhoon damage. This paper proposes a safe and lightweight design for the Gageocho ocean research station comprising steel members instead of large amounts of concrete reinforcement in the legs. Based on the actual design, the structural members are grouped according to their functional roles, and the inner diameter of the cross-section in each design group is defined as a design variable. Structural optimization is carried out using a genetic algorithm to minimize the total weight of the structure. To satisfy the conservative safety standards in the offshore field, both the maximum stress and the unity check criteria are considered as design constraints during optimization. For enhanced safety confidence, extreme environmental conditions are assumed. The maximum marine attachment thickness and the section erosion in the splash zone are applied. Additionally, the design load is defined as the force induced by extreme waves, winds, and currents aligned in the same direction. All the loading directions surrounding the structure are considered to design the structure in a balanced and safe manner. As a result, compared with the current structure, the proposed structure features a 45% lighter design, satisfying the strict offshore safety criteria.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2022

For fixed prosthetic treatment using implants, implants must be placed in a suitable location for prosthetic treatment. During surgery, minimally invasive prosthetic restoration is possible using a flapless method using a surgical guide. The patient in this case was an 86-year-old male patient who wanted treatment due to discomfort when using conventional dentures. Due to systemic disease, the patient had difficulty using removable local dentures, so full dentures for the maxilla and fixed implants for the mandible were restored. Because there is a high risk of bleeding due to systemic disease, the implant was placed in a flapless method using a surgical guide. Finally, prostheses were fabricated with maxillary full denture and mandibular screw-retained zirconia, and this report shows satisfactory esthetic and functional recovery.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.115-128
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• 2022

This study investigates the effect of wrist guards equipped with electronic muscle stimulation on reducing wrist pain and improving wrist function of actual lure fishing participants. This study combined conductive fabrics by selecting two products of wrist guards that can be used in lure fishing, which requires holding fishing rods with hands for a long time. It was conducted on ten healthy men aged 35 to 45, and the selection conditions were selected for those who did not have a history of surgery on the wrist and are currently enjoying lure fishing as a hobby. The experimental movement was performed 100 times before each experiment to cause delayed muscle pain to cause wrist fatigue when lure fishing was performed with the operation of grip strength and range of motion. As a result of this study, it was found that pain reduction, range of motion, and grip strength were improved when electrical stimulation was applied after wearing a wrist band in the form of a wrist wrap and semi-gloves. The conclusion of this study was that when electrical stimulation was applied to the wrist guards, the effect of improving the fatigue and function of the wrist could be confirmed through experiments. Through this study, it is expected that wearing electronic muscle stimulation wrist guards will have a significant effect on preventing wrist injuries and improving functional recovery for lure fishing participants.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.252-259
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• 2023

A decrease in ovarian function and sex hormone production with aging results in hormone deficiency, which causes menopause in women. Natural products have been investigated to develop estrogen-like substances to improve menopausal status in women. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Gastrodia elata Blume extract (TVB-1000) in ovariectomized rats. After a recovery period of 7 days, the TVB-1000 treatment group was orally administered at 16, 40, and 100 mg/kg for 12 weeks. In the OVX-positive control group, 17β-estradiol was injected subcutaneously into the dorsal region of rats at a dose of 10 ㎍/kg. Results show that TG and LDL-C, which are cardiovascular disease markers, were significantly decreased in all concentrations of TVB-1000 administration in the treatment group, and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio significantly decreased in the medium and high TVB-1000 concentrations of the treatment group. In addition, in the high concentration TVB-1000 treatment group, the weight of abdominal fat decreased with statistical significance. The low-dose and medium-dose administration groups showed statistical significance and the expression level of their ER-α increased, but ER-β did not show a significant change. The above experiment shows that owing to the estrogen-like effect of TVB-1000, it can be useful as a functional food material to prevent cardiovascular disease, which is one of the menopausal symptoms.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.62-69
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• 2023

This study investigated the electromechanical properties of cement based smart repair materials (SRMs) according to the different amounts of fine steel slag aggregates (FSSAs). SRMs can self-diagnose the quality of repairing and self-sense the damage of repaired zone. The replacement ratios of FSSAs to sand for SRMs were 0% (FSSA00), 25% (FSSA25), and 50% (FSSA50) by sand weight. The electrical resistivity of SRMs generally decreased as the compressive stress of SRMs increased: the electrical resistivity of FSSA25 at the age of 7 hours decreased from 78.16 to 63.68 kΩ-cm as the compressive stress increased from 0 to 22.37 MPa. As the replacement ratio of FSSAs by weight of sand increased from 0% to 25%, the stress sensitivity coefficient (SSC) of SRM at the age of 7 h increased from 0.471 to 0.828 %/MPa owing to the increased number of partially conductive paths in the SRMs. However, as the replacement ratio of FSSAs further increased up to 50%, the SSC decreased from 0.828 to 0.649 %/MPa because some of the partially conductive paths changed to continued conductive ones. SRMs are expected to self-sense the quality and future damage of repaired zone only by measuring the electrical resistivity of the repaired zone in addition to fast recovery in the mechanical resistance of structures.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.72-81
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• 2023

Objective : Ischemia and hemorrhage of pituitary adenomas (PA) caused important clinical syndrome. However, the differences on clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes between these two kinds apoplexy were less reported. Methods : A retrospective analysis was made of patients with pituitary apoplexy between January 2013 and June 2018. Baseline and clinical characteristics before surgery were reviewed. All patients underwent transsphenoidal surgery and were followed up at least 1 year. Results : Total 67 cases (5.8%) among 1147 pituitary tumor patients were enrolled, which consisted of 28 (~2.4%) ischemic PA and 39 (~3.4%) hemorrhagic PA. There were more male patients in the ischemic group compared with hemorrhagic group (78.6% vs 53.8%, p=0.043). However, the mean age, tumor size and functional tumor ratio were significant higher in the hemorrhagic group. Headache was more common in ischemic PA (82.1%) than that of hemorrhagic PA (51.3%, p=0.011). Magnetic resonance imaging findings found that mucosal thickening and enhancement of the sphenoid sinus was observed in 15 ischemic PA patients (n=27, 55.6%), but none in patients with hemorrhagic PA (n=38, p<0.0001). It was worth noting that the rate of pre-surgical hypopituitarism in ischemic PA patients were seemed higher than that in hemorrhagic PA patients, but not significant. The two groups got a total tumor resection rate at 94.1% and 92.9%, independently. No significant difference on the operative time, blood loss in operation and complications in perioperative period was observed in two groups. After operation, cranial nerve symptoms recovered to normal at 81.8% of ischemic PA patients and 82.6% of hemorrhagic PA patients. Importantly, the incidence of postoperative hypopituitarism partially decreased in both groups, among which the rate of hypothyroidism in ischemic PA patients significantly decreased from 46.4% to 18.5% (p=0.044). Conclusion : Patients with ischemic PA presented different clinical characteristics to the hemorrhagic ones. Transsphenoidal surgery should be considered for the patients with neuro-ophthalmic deficits and might benefit for pituitary function recovery of the apoplectic adenoma patients, especially pituitary thyroid axis in ischemic PA patients.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.291-298
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• 2023

In this study, a quantitative analysis method was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the content of ceramide NP in lotion, cream, and cleanser formulations in cosmetics. The analysis was performed using a C18 column, and the mobile phase was set at a ratio of 70 : 30 for acetonitrile and methanol, the flow rate was set to 0.8 mL/min, and the column temperature was set to 20 ℃. The method was verified by analyzing specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, accuracy, and precision in accordance with the ICH guidelines. As a result of validating the method, the linearity of the calibration curve was excellent (R² = 0.99984). The accuracy of the lotion, cream, and cleanser formulations was confirmed with a recovery rate ranging from 95.11% to 100.48%. The precision analysis showed a low relative standard deviation (RSD) of less than 0.26%. The limit of detection was 0.902 ㎍/mL, and the limit of quantitation was 2.733 ㎍/mL. Through this quantitative analysis method of ceramide NP applied in cosmetics, it is expected to assist in the quality control of products by enabling measurement even when it is difficult to separate the main peak due to the influence of interfering substances.