• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 2024

Background: Mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are complex and the current knowledge cannot explain. Growth and regeneration of dendrites together with synaptic formation are the most important parameters for evaluating the cellular protective effects of various molecules. The effect of ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) on the growth of retinal ganglion cell processes has been poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on the neurite growth of RGCs. Methods: Expression of proteins and mRNA were detected by Western blot and qPCR. cAMP levels were determined by ELISA. In vivo effects of Rg1 on RGCs were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin, and immunohistochemistry staining. Results: This study found that Rg1 promoted the growth and synaptic plasticity of RGCs neurite by activating the cAMP/PKA/CREB pathways. Meanwhile, Rg1 upregulated the expression of GAP43, Rac1 and PAX6, which are closely related to the growth of neurons. Meantime, H89, an antagonist of PKA, could block this effect of Rg1. In addition, we preliminarily explored the effect of Rg1 on enhancing the glycolysis of RGCs, which could be one of the mechanisms for its neuroprotective effects. Conclusion: Rg1 promoted neurite growth of RGCs through cAMP/PKA/CREB pathways. This study may lay a foundation for its clinical use of optic nerve diseases in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.146-152
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• 2024

Objectives: This prospective observational study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of perioperative airway and ventilatory management in patients undergoing surgery for oral cavity cancer. The study described the frequencies and types of procedures for securing the airway and the duration and types of postoperative ventilatory support. We compared the findings with those of the TRACHY study. Patients and Methods: One hundred patients undergoing oral cavity oncological surgeries were included. Airway assessment included inter-incisor gap, Mallampati class, neck movements, and radiological features. Surgical parameters, postoperative ventilatory support, and complications were documented. Results: The buccal mucosa was the most common cancer site (48.0%), and direct laryngoscopy was deemed difficult in 58.0% of patients. Awake fibreoptic intubation or elective tracheostomy was required in 43.0% of cases. Thirty-three patients were extubated on the table, and 34 patients were successfully managed with a delayed extubation strategy. In comparison with the TRACHY study, variations were observed in demographic parameters, tumour characteristics, and surgical interventions. Our mean TRACHY score was 1.38, and only five patients had a score ≥4. Prophylactic tracheostomy was performed in 2.0% of cases, in contrast to the TRACHY study in which 42.0% of patients underwent the procedure. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the challenges in airway management for oral cavity cancer surgery. While prophylactic tracheostomy may be necessary in specific cases, individualized approaches, including delayed extubation, are preferrable to maximize safety. Our findings contribute to better understanding and managing perioperative challenges in oral cancer patients and highlight the need for personalized strategies. Scoring systems like TRACHY should not be accepted as universally applicable.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.38-43
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• 2024

Recently, with the expanding market for electronic devices and electric vehicles, secondary battery usage has been on the rise. Lithium-ion batteries are particularly popular due to their fast charging times and lightweight nature compared to other types of batteries. A secondary battery consists of four components: anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator. Generally, the positive and negative electrode materials of secondary batteries are composed of an active material, a binder, and a conductive material. Acetylene Black (AB) is utilized to enhance conductivity between active material particles or metal dust collectors, preventing the binder from acting as an insulator. However, when recycling waste batteries that have been subject to high usage, there is a risk of fire and explosion accidents, as accurately identifying the characteristics of Acetylene Black dust proves to be challenging. In this study, the lower explosion limit for Acetylene Black dust with an average particle size of 0.042 ㎛ was determined to be 153.64 mg/L using a Hartmann-type dust explosion device. Notably, the dust did not explode at values below 168 mg, rendering the lower explosion limit calculation unfeasible. Analysis of explosion delay times with varying electrode gaps revealed the shortest delay time at 3 mm, with a noticeable increase in delay times for gaps of 4 mm or greater. The findings offer fundamental data for fire and explosion prevention measures in Acetylene Black waste recycling processes via a predictive model for lower explosion limits and ignition delay time.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the clinical features of methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning. Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study included patients with toxic alcohol poisoning who visited a regional emergency medical center. Patients with methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning from January 2004 to June 2023 were selected for the study using diagnostic codes. Results: Twenty-two patients with toxic alcohol poisoning visited during the study period, with 11 patients for each category. Compared to methanol poisoning, ethylene glycol poisoning patients were more likely to have consumed alcohol for suicidal purposes (n=4 [36.36%] vs. n=8 [72.73%]) and were more likely to be drowsy (n=0 vs. n=6 [54.55%], p=0.016). The anion gap (25.43±8.35 mmol/L vs. 13.22±6.23 mmol/L, p=0.001) and lactic acid levels (1.785 [1.3-2.785] mmol/L vs. 9.90 [4.20-11.81] mmol/L, p=0.007) were higher in ethylene glycol poisoning patients than in methanol poisoning patients. Among alcohol dehydrogenase blockers, oral ethanol was administered to 10 patients (45.45%) (n=4 [36.36%] vs. n=6 [54.55%]), and intravenous ethanol was administered to six patients (n=4 [36.36%] vs. n=2 [18.18%]). Fomepizole was administered to two patients (9.09%) each, and renal replacement therapy was non-significantly more common in patients with ethylene glycol poisoning (n=8 [72.73%] vs. n=3 [27.27%], p=0.128). Three patients had delays in diagnosis and treatment, and while there were no fatalities, one patient was left with permanent vision damage. Conclusion: Because these are uncommon types of poisoning and the clinical presentation is difficult to recognize early, healthcare providers should be familiar with toxic alcohol types and screen for them to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to analyze the microbiological hazards of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge on the post-harvest processing. Samples from processing equipments (cleaner, water, cart, table, tray and packaging machine), personal hygiene (hand) and harvested crops (before washing, after washing, after sorting, and after drying) were collected from four farms (A, B, C, and D) located in Chungchengbuk-do, Korea. The samples were analyzed for sanitary indication bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. First, total aerobic bacteria and coliform in processing facilities were detected at the levels of 0.93~4.86 and 0.33~2.28 log CFU/$100cm^2$ and/mL respectively. In particular, microbial contamination in hand (5.43~6.11 and 2.52~4.12 log CFU/Hand) showed higher than processing equipments. Among the pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus cereus was detected at the levels of 0.33~2.41 log CFU/$100cm^2$, 1.48~3.27 log CFU/Hand and 0.67~3.65 log CFU/g in equipments, hands, and plants and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in cleaner, table, hand and harvested crops (before washing and after sorting) by qualitative test. Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. were not detected. These results indicated that personal hygiene and processing equipments should be managed to reduce the microbial contamination of A. membranaceus Bunge. Therefore, management system such as good agricultural practices (GAP) criteria is needed for hygienic agricultural products.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.243-248
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• 2011

The prevalence and distribution of hazardous microorganisms were investigated from the major perilla cultivation area at Milyang, Gyeongnam province, Korea. Aerobic plate count (APC) and coliform count of perilla leaves were 4.82 log CFU/g and 3.85 log CFU/g, respectively. E. coli, S. aureus and B. cereus were detected in 3.0% (4/114), 7.9% (9/114) and 46.5% (53/114) of examined perilla leaves. However, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp, and L. monocytogenes were not detected. The distribution of hazardous microorganisms in perilla leaf cultivation environment were compared and the concentration of APC and coliform counts were more than 3.0 log CFU/(mL, g, $100cm^2$, hand) from most of the samples. S. aureus were detected from irrigation water, packing table, packing vinyl, hand, and clothes. Also, B. cereus was frequently detected from the examined samples. Especially, packing table and collection container were contaminated with maximum 5.5 log $CFU/100cm^2$ of B. cereus. Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) system should be introduced to farms to enhance the safety of perilla leaves.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.459-467
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• 2009

$Cd_2GeSe_4$ and $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films were prepared on indium-tin-oxide(ITO)-coated glass substrates by using thermal evaporation. The crystallization was achieved by annealing the as-deposited films in flowing nitrogen. X-ray diffraction spectra showed that the $Cd_2GeSe_4$ and the $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films were preferentially grown along the (113) orientation. The crystal structure was rhomohedral(hexagonal) with lattice constants of $a=7.405\;{\AA}$ and $c=36.240\;{\AA}$ for $Cd_2GeSe_4$ and $a=7.43\;{\AA}$ and $c=36.81\;{\AA}$ for $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films. From the scanning electron microscope images, the $Cd_2GeSe_4$ and $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films were plated, and the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. The optical energy band gap, measured at room temperature, of the as-deposited $Cd_2GeSe_4$ films was 1.70 eV and increased to about 1.74 eV and of the as-deposited $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films was 1.79 eV and decreased to about 1.74 eV upon annealing in flowing nitrogen at temperatures from $200^{\circ}C$ to $500^{\circ}C$. The dynamical behavior of the charge carriers in the $Cd_2GeSe_4$ and $Cd_2GeSe_4:Co^{2+}$ films were investigated by using the photoinduced discharge characteristics technique.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.477-482
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• 2012

Purpose: This study is aimed at finding the conditions of ametropia of adults in the Philippines and the South Korean. Methods: The study objects were 7,695(15,390 eyes) Koreans and 2,256(4,512 eyes) Philippines who visited optic clinics and took refraction test. The distributions of their hypermetropias and myopias about astigmatisms were examined, using the method of equivalent spherical power. When astigmatisms were marked in S-C, cylinder lens diopter and astigmatism axis, presbyopic additions and pupillary distances were analyzed by comparison respectively. Results: Among ametropias of Koreans myopias and hypermetropias were 93.69% and 6.31% respectively and about ametropias of Philippines myopia and hypermetropias were 73.43% and 26.57% respectively. As for spherical equivalent power about Koreans, the results showed that Koreans marked -3.352 D about myopia and Philippines marked -2.213 D about it. There is a gap of -1.139 D between them. About hypermetropia Koreans marked 1.147 D and Philippines, 1.251 D and their gap is 0.104 D. As for ametropia of Koreans there is 49.86% in middle myopia, 32.28% about low myopia, 11.55% about high myopia, and 5.54% about low hypermetropia, 0.75% about middle hypermetropia. As for it about Philippines there is 44.53% in low myopia, 25.11% about middle myopia, 3.79% high myopia and 23.03% low hypermetropia, and 3.51% low hypermetropia respectively. As for cylinder lens there is differences of 0.194 D and 0.22 D between Korean and Philippine for both sexes. Totally Koreans have higher cylinders of 0.175 D than Philippines. As for astigmatism, Koreans have direct astigmatism, inverse astigmatism, and oblique astigmatism in their suffering sequence. As for Philippines, they have direct astigmatism, inverse stigmatism, and oblique astigmatism in their abnormal sequence, and they have higher oblique stigmatism than Koreans. As for presbyopic addition, Philippines have higher distributions than Koreans, and 0.296 D is higher in average. As for pupillary distance, Koreans have longer distance of 0.97 mm in man and 0.63 mm in women than Philippines. Conclusions: As for ametropia, Koreans and Philippines have more myopias than hypermetropias, but Philippines have more rates of hypermetropias than Koreans. And Philippines have more presbyopic additions. Koreans have higher morbidity of inverse astigmatism, and Philippines have higher morbidity of oblique astigmatism comparatively. As for pupillary distance, Koreans have longer length in the body characteristics. This shows that geographical circumstances have much to do with refraction conditions of eyes.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.75-86
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• 2015

The survey was taken from July to August 2012 by users who visited Gyeongju National Park to compare the perceived gap of users regarding management policy by characteristic of Gyeongju National Park district type in this study. Gyeongju National Park users' characteristic, use pattern and perception regarding park management policy were created as survey items. First, district type was classified based on use pattern of the visitor and the key resources of 8 districts in Gyeongju National Park. Tohamsan District, which has many visitors for the purpose of scenery appreciation and recreation with Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto, is classified as tourism type, Namsan and Daebon District, which bring in many visitors seeking to learn about historical culture and environmental education, could be classified as historical culture education types, and Hwarang, Seoak, Sogeum River, Gumisan District are places residents use for physical training, hiking and walking to improve health, thus classifying them as neighborhood park types. People perceived that the tourism type is where users for historical artifact tours are concentrated, thus consideration for plans that can improve visitors' satisfaction from a user limit policy is required, and a manager's right to control use behavior must be reinforced in historical culture education types. On the other hand, users of neighborhood parks found the lowest necessity for most of the policy, and this showed that users of each of Gyeongju National Park's districts felt differently about the need for policies. This result is expected to be utilized as a database for introducing policy that reflects the perception of users in each districts of Gyeongju National Park in the future.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.548-553
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• 2006

Background : Alcoholic ketoacidosis(AKA) is a metabolic disturbance that is caused by prolonged and excessive alcohol consumption. Though the prognosis is reportedly good, its outcome is unclear in some cases that are combined with multi-organ failure. There are few reports of an analysis of cases admitted to an intensive care unit(ICU) Method: Cases of AKA admitted to the ICU over the last 5 years were retrospectively analyzed. Severe AKA was characterized by multi-organ failure that required treatment in an ICU Results : All patients were males with a history of excessive alcohol consumption. Five of them (50%) mainly complained of gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), showing metabolic acidosis with an increased asmolar and anion gap. Rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure was the most common combined organ failure. Mechanical ventilation was performed in 80%. Six patients died and 4 patients survived. In the surviving patients, the arterial blood gas analysis(ABGA) was normalized within 12 hours after admission. Conclusion : In severe AKA patients, rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure was the most common complication. The mortality rate was high and death from shock occurred within 3 days.