• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.115-122
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to propose the utilization plan of Ryodoraku in the U-health care systems. Methods : Computerized literature searches were performed for Ryodoraku related articles using the following databases: KISS, RISS, DBPIA, NDSL from 1990 to Oct 2010. Search terms were '양도락' or 'Ryodoraku' or 'U-health'. Due to Ryodoraku coming from Japan, additional literature review(articles published by 2008) on Japanese journal of Ryodoraku medicine was done for compensation. Results : 1. Introduction of U-health : As rapid progress of population aging and strong interest in health, the demand for the traditional Korean medical service is increasing. Until now healthcare service has provided post treatment by face-to-face manner. But according to related researches, proactive treatment is resulted to be more effective for preventing diseases. Particularly, the existing healthcare services have limitations in preventing and managing chronic geriatric degenrative diseases such as metabolic syndrome, CVA, coronary heart diseases, parkinson's diseases, degenerative joint disease, spondylosis, etc., because the cause of the above is complex and even related to life habit. As the advent of ubiquitous technology, patients with the chronic geriatric degenrative diseases can improve life habit such as poor eating habits and physical inactivity without the constraints of time and space through u-healthcare service. Therefor, lots of researches for u-healthcare service focus on providing the personalized healthcare service for preventing and managing that. To cope with this situations, The concept of u-healthcare service should be adopted in the traditional korean medicine and diagnostic devices suitable for it should be also devised and developed based on traditonal korean medine. 2. Review of existing Ryodoraku related articles for applying to U-health : articles investigating feasibility applying Ryodoraku to meridian diagnosis and raising problems of it, articles providing recent research trends of Ryodoraku, Ryodoraku related articles considering usefulness for U-health, and articles confirming the repeatability and reproducity of Ryodoraku were included. Based on the review of the above Ryodoraku related articles, several application of Ryodoraku in the U-health care system. Conclusions : To make preparations for the increasing need of traditional Korean medicine due to rising morbidity rate of chronic geriatric degenerative diseases, it is necessary to appropriately apply Ryodoraku to the U-health care system. The application of Ryodoraku is as follows. 1. To use Ryodoraku additionally to the established diagnostic device of metabolic syndrome, CVA, coronary heart diseases, parkinson's diseases, degenerative joint disease, spondylosis. 2. To apply Ryodoraku to the symptoms or diseases having a tendency to be diagnosed by correlation between the affected meridian and the lesion such as headache, nuchal pain, shoulder pain, low back pain, sciatica, HNP, etc. 3. To secure the repeatability and reproducity of Ryodoraku. 4. To devise and develop Ryodoraku appliance in order to overcome the known drawbacks and to improve error of measurement.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.431-439
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• 2013

This thesis is to research the before and after changes of physical configurations, blood components and physical strength for normal and geriatric diseased senior citizens at the end of 24 week of combined exercises constructed of aerobic and muscular strength training to create most suitable and effective complex exercise program for geriatric diseased patients. For this experiment 20 normal and 20 geriatric diseased patients in the age of 65 residing in "K" city were selected to carry out the 24 weeks of combined exercises in regularly. The result of the research showed that geriatric patients increased significantly in everything, but normal group showed significant change in only WHR. There was a slight improvement in the blood components for the average participants but it only differed slightly from the diseased participants so there were no major changes reflecting the outcomes from both before and after. After concluding the program both groups displayed positive improvements in stamina but no significant alterations in physical strength., agility, muscle endurance and balance. The positive factors for each groups could be that the norms were able to maintain their health and enhancement in stamina and diseased were able to prevent their condition from worsening. Additionally, over 50 percent of all senior citizens have one or more geriatric diseases but the participation of any physical activity is in the decrease. Henceforth, this is a field that still needs a lot of work and combined exercise programs should be created and followed through so it may enhance in the improvement of health and quality of life as well.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.584-598
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• 2011

The age structure has been experiencing substantial change due to the decreased birth rate as well as the increased life expectancy. Gorge Magnus, an English economist, casts warnings of population ageing which has the potential of huge socioeconomic impact human society has never experienced before. The prediction that proportion of elderly people in need of oral health care will increase substantially is a new challenge to dentists in the future. The old paradigm that the aged person is just the person who was born earlier and needs the same conventional oral health care should be shifted to the new one. Elderly people tend to express their political interest related with health care system by actively participating in the national elections. The need to sustain economic status for the extended life span makes them seek eagerly esthetic health care to maintain sound social function. Most of them are under multiple chronic diseases and take related medicines. In addition, many studies report about mental change as well as physical change among the aged people. Since the prevalence of dental diseases among the aged is higher than other chronic devastating diseases, the aged seeking oral health care will increase. The aged who has different physical and psychological status as well as chronic disease and related medicine will show unexpected response to the conventional oral health care. In addition, the impact of tooth loss is substantial physically, mentally and emotionally. Dentist should prepare different approaches for the elderly dental patient.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.350-358
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• 2012

Objective : Life expectancy for humans has increased dramatically and with this there has been a considerable increase in the number of patients suffering from lumbar spine disease. Symptomatic lumbar spinal disease should be treated, even in the elderly, and surgical procedures such as fusion surgery are needed for moderate to severe lumbar spinal disease. However, various perioperative complications are associated with fusion surgery. The aim of this study was to examine perioperative complications and assess risk factors associated with lumbar spinal fusion, focusing on geriatric patients at least 70 years of age in the Republic of Korea. Methods : We retrospectively investigated 489 patients with various lumbar spinal diseases who underwent lumbar spinal fusion surgery between 2003 and 2007 at our institution. Three fusion procedures and the number of fused segments were analyzed in this study. Chronic diseases were also evaluated. Risk factors for complications and their association with age were analyzed. Results : In this study, 74 patients experienced complications (15%). The rate of perioperative complications was significantly higher in patients 70 years of age or older than in other age groups (univariate analysis, p=0.001; multivariate analysis, p=0.004). However, perioperative complications were not significantly associated with the other factors tested (sex, comorbidities, operation procedures, fusion segments involved). Conclusion : Increasing age was an important risk factor for perioperative complications in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery whereas other factors were not significant. We recommend good clinical judgment and careful selection of geriatric patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.143-153
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• 2004

This research aimed to assess nursing homes for the elderly with geriatric diseases in Japan, and to prepare the knowledge basis to develop nursing home for the elderly with geriatric diseases in Korea. For this, researcher visited 5 facilities in Tokyo from October 3 to October 9 in 2002, collected data by observations, interviews, and visual materials by taking photographs. Visual materials were analyzed according to the environmental assessment matrix consisted of supportiveness, flexibility, efficiency in perception, accessibility, safety, amenity, and social Interaction that were assorted and were given a name by these researchers in the process of this research. Among the characteristics of environmental design of the analysis cases, 992 items picked out from 722 visual materials were used in the analysis. The data were analyzed using the frequency and percentage with SPSS 11 program. The analysis results were the fellowing. The characteristics of recent nursing home design in Japan tended to focus on supportiveness, amenity, and efficiency in perception but to leave much desired in flexibility and safety. In each space, space to support outdoor activities tended to focus on efficiency in perception, space to support living activities tended to focus on amenities, space to support treatment and living tended to focus on supportiveness, space to support administration and operation tended to focus on supportiveness, and space to support movement tended to focus on amenities.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.5 no.9
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• pp.7-16
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to propose and estimate the architectural planning of general hospital in Korea, for the aged society in the near future. Average life expectancy of Koreans has been lengthened and the percentage of the aged populations is expected to be increased sharply. Therefore, the social problems for the aged occur in various levels, especially in healthcare facilities and medical system due to the weak health conditions of the aged. These problems will become more serious in the near future. However, the architectural planning of general hospital in Korea has not been prepared for the aged society yet. The results of this study were as follows the ward of general hospital should be divided into acute and geriatric wards because of the characteristics of geriatric diseases.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.287-295
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• 2018

Eating-swallowing disorder (dysphagia) is a very important functional problem for the elderly, and it has a significant impact on the quality of their life. Because the eating and swallowing processes are affected by oral tissues including teeth, tongue, and oral muscles, it is natural that the dentist as a specialist in oro-facial region, intervenes in the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. Nevertheless, Korean dentists still lack interest and understanding of dysphagia. In aged society, it is necessary that the dentists understand the functional disorders as well as oral diseases. The purpose of this study is to introduce the evaluation and treatment methods of eating and swallowing functional disorders in order to cope with eating-swallowing disordered patients who are frequently encountered in aged society.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2643-2648
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• 2016

Background: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are lower in Japanese compared with Western subjects. Since it is uncertain whether hsCRP is a potent predictor of mortality at low CRP concentrations, the present study examined associations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large population of Japanese. Materials and Methods: Subjects were 4,737 men and 6,343 women aged 49-76 years participating in the baseline survey of an ongoing cohort study of lifestyle-related diseases between February 2004 and July 2006. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with hsCRP levels were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: A total of 436 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 8 years. The main cause of death was cancer. In men, hsCRP levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause mortality as well as deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). All-cause mortality hazards for the 2nd (0.34-0.84 mg/L) and the 3rd (${\geq}0.85mg/L$) tertiles of hsCRP were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.73) and 1.75 (1.30-2.37), respectively (p for trend=0.001). In women, increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with elevated hsCRP levels was observed, but the associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions: HsCRP may be an independent predictor of all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality in apparently healthy Japanese men, but not women. The differential effect of hsCRP in predicting mortality risk by sex warrants further investigation.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1456-1471
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• 2018

This article discusses the nutritional requirements, reviews senior or geriatric dog nutritional evaluation, and then addresses some common nutrition-related problems in older dogs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Physiologic change associated with aging, essential nutrients and their diseases in senior or geriatric dog subjects. According to a 2002 market research, 30% to 40% of dogs raisedin the United States are 7 years of age. In Europe the number of dogs considered to be "senior or geriatric" (>7 years of age) increased by approximately 50% between 1983 and 1995. A 2012 e-mail survey of 50,347 respondents revealed that 33.2% of dogs were 6 to 10 years of age and 14.7% were older than 11 years in the United States. The average life expectancy of dogs raised in the home is affected by health care, aging and nutrition.And, the aging process is influenced by breed size, genetics, nutrition, environment, and other factors. Although many pets remain active and youthful well into their teens, most dogs start to slow down and may show signs of aging beginning as early as 5 or 6 years of age. Improvements in the control of various diseases and in the nutrition of dogs have resulted in a gradual increase in the average lifespan of companion dogs. Nutritional goals for aging dogs include supporting health and vitality, preventing the onset or slowing the progression of age-related health disorders, and enhancing the dog's quality of life and, if possible, life expectancy. Aging brings with its physiologicchanges. Some changes are obvious, such as whitening of hair, a general decline in body and coat condition, and failing senses including sight and hearing. Other changes are less obvious, however, and these include alterations in the physiology of the digestive tract, immune system, kidneys, and other organs. Nutritional requirements can change with age. In addition, many diseases common in older dogs may be nutrient-sensitive, meaning that diet can play an important role in the management of the condition.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2009

Coptis japonica (C. japonica) is a perennial medicinal plant that has anti-inflammatory activity. C. japonica contains numerous biologically active alkaloids including berberine, palmatine, epi-berberine, and coptisine. The most well-known anti-inflammatory principal in C. japonica is berberine. For example, berberine has been implicated in the inhibition of iNOS induction by cytokines in microglial cells. However, the efficacies of other alkaloids components on microglial activation were not investigated yet. In this study, we investigated the effects of three alkaloids (palmatine, epi-berberine and coptisine) from C. japonica on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation. BV2 microglial cells were immunostimulated with LPS and then the production of several inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were examined as well as the phosphorylation status of Erk1/2 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK). Palmatine and to a lesser extent epi-berberine and coptisine, significantly reduced the release of NO, which was mediated by the inhibition of LPS-stimulated mRNA and protein induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) from BV2 microglia. In addition to NO, palmatine inhibited MMP-9 enzymatic activity and mRNA induction by LPS. Palmatine also inhibited the increase in the LPS-induced MMP-9 promoter activity determined by MMP-9 promoter luciferase reporter assay. LPS stimulation increased Erk1/2 phosphorylation in BV2 cells and these alkaloids inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2. The anti-inflammatory effect of palmatine in LPS-stimulated microglia may suggest the potential use of the alkaloids in the modulation of neuroinflammatory responses, which might be important in the pathophysiological events of several neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease (PD) and stroke.