• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.212-225
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• 2023

Purpose We retrospectively investigated the characteristics of patients with monosodium urate (MSU) deposits of the hand and wrist on dual-energy CT (DECT) compared to those without. We also attempted to determine the pattern of MSU distribution in DECT. Materials and Methods In total, 93 patients were included who had undergone DECT for evaluation of the hand or wrist pain under the clinical impression of gouty arthritis. The total volume of MSU deposits on DECT was calculated and the pattern of MSU distribution on DECT was analyzed. Also, the level of the serum urate at the time of DECT and the highest level of the serum urate of the patients were obtained from their records and the relationship between MSU and serum urate level was evaluated. Results The range of the volume of MSU deposits on DECT was 0.01-16.11 cm³ (average: 1.07 cm³). The average level of serum urate was significantly higher in the MSU positive group than that in the MSU negative group. MSU deposits were most frequently observed in the wrists followed by fingers and digitorum tendons. Conclusion On DECT, MSU deposits were most frequently detected in the wrist and related with high serum urate level.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.25.1-25.16
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• 2021

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease whose development is shaped by a variety of environmental and genetic factors. While several recent studies suggest that microbial dysbiosis in the gut may promote asthma, little is known about the relationship between the recently discovered lung microbiome and asthma. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have also been shown recently to participate in asthma. To investigate the relationship between the lung microbiome, ILCs, and asthma, we recruited 23 healthy controls (HC), 42 patients with non-severe asthma, and 32 patients with severe asthma. Flow cytometry analysis showed severe asthma associated with fewer natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR)⁺ILC3s in the lung. Similar changes in other ILC subsets, macrophages, and monocytes were not observed. The asthma patients did not differ from the HC in terms of the alpha and beta-diversity of the lung and gut microbiomes. However, lung function correlated positively with both NCR⁺ILC3 frequencies and microbial diversity in the lung. Sputum NCR⁺ILC3 frequencies correlated positively with lung microbiome diversity in the HC, but this relationship was inversed in severe asthma. Together, these data suggest that airway NCR⁺ILC3s may contribute to a healthy commensal diversity and normal lung function.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2013

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the polysomnographic characteristics and prescription status of restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients in naturalistic setting. Methods: We reviewed medical record of the patients over 18 years olds who (i) satisfied the clinical RLS diagnostic criteria and (ii) had the polysomnography and got treatment related thereto. As a baseline, we evaluated the four diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) and the International Restless Legs Scale (IRLS) of the subjects. Then the polysomnography and the suggested immobilization test (SIT) were conducted and, after one month of pharmacotherapy using dopamine agonist, the IRLS was evaluated again. Results: A total of 211 subjects participated in this analysis and 94 (44.5%) of them were male and the other 117 (55.5%) were female and the average age of the 211 subjects was $46.9{\pm}14.2$. Out of such 211 subjects, 136 subjects (64.5%) also had the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and 53 subjects (25.1%) also had the periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). 185 subjects (87.7%) out of the 211 subjects had some other sleep disorders except RLS. The results of the polysomnography were as follows : 78.0% of sleep efficiency, 86.8 min of wake after sleep onset, and 3.4% of N3. More specifically, 12.4/h of the average apnea hypopnea index, 14.8/h of the periodic limb movement during sleep (PLMS), 41.2/h of the periodic limb movement during wake during SIT and 21.6/h of total arousal index during sleep. Out of the total subjects, 149 (70.6%) of them took the ropinirole and 47 (22.3%) of them took the pramipexole, and the average dosage of ropinirole was 0.9mg(dosage range 0.125-5 mg) while the average dosage of pramipexole was 0.5 mg (dosage range 0.125-4 mg). The dosage of the ropinirole showed a significant positive correlation with the age (r=0.25, p=0.002) and also with the IRLS (r=0.23, p=0.038). The IRLS at the baseline was 24.9 while the same was decreased down to 13.4 after one month. Conclusions: Analyzing the result of this study, a majority of clinical RLS subjects demonstrated comorbidity with some other sleep disorder such as the OSA or PLMD. 25.1% of the subjects showed a PLMD, which was less than in previous researches and the average PLMS was not very high as 14.8/h. The dosage of dopamine agonist taken was often a bit more than the amount recommended in Korea. A prospective research using a large scale controlled subjects will be necessary with respect to this topic.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2009

This study was conducted to determine application possibility of mulberry (Morus alba) silage as a functional feed in feeding management of Korean native cattle for high quality beef production by analysing active components and antioxidative activity. The chemical analysis of mulberry silage indicates that the content of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber and crude ash was $28.41{\pm}3.12%,\;12.43{\pm}0.28%,\;2.47{\pm}0.18%,\;20.29{\pm}0.75%\;and\;6.98{\pm}0.12%$, respectively. The content of 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ), which is representative active ingredient of mulberry and blood sugar descending component, was 0.568 mg/g and the content of $\gamma$-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is blood pressure descending component, was 5,936.22 pmol. Mulberry silage used in this study did not contain flavonoids but did contain total phenols for 21.69 ${\mu}g/mg$. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was increased with increasing the concentration of mulberry silage extracts and there was above 50% of scavenging activity at the concentration of 0.25 mg/ml. Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was also increased with increasing the concentration of silage extracts. Alkyl radical scavenging activity was high at the low concentration of silage extracts, which was above 50% of scavenging activity at the concentration of 0.125 mg/ml. The result of this study indicated that there was high possibility of mulberry silage as a functional feed for beef cattle.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.3
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• pp.215-224
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• 2009

A review was given of the role of traditional morphometrics in plant morphological studies using 54 published studies in three major journals and others in Korea, such as Journal of Korean Forestry Society, Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy, Korean Journal of Breeding, Korean Journal of Apiculture, Journal of Life Science, and Korean Journal of Plant Resources from 1997 to 2008. The two most commonly used techniques of data analysis, cluster analysis (CA) and principal components analysis (PCA) with other statistical tests were discussed. The common problem of PCA is the underlying assumptions of methods, like random sampling and multivariate normal distribution of data. The procedure was intended mainly for continuous data and was not efficient for data which were not well summarized by variances or covariances. Likewise CA was most appropriate for categorical rather than continuous data. Also, the CA produced clusters whether or not natural groupings existed, and the results depended on both the similarity measure chosen and the algorithm used for clustering. An additional problems of the PCA and the CA arised with both qualitative and quantitative data with a limited number of variables and/or too few numbers of samples. Some of these problems may be avoided if a certain number of variables (more than 20 at least) and sufficient samples (40-50 at least) are considered for morphometric analyses, but we do not think that the methods are all mighty tools for data analysts. Instead, we do believe that reasonable applications combined with focus on objectives and limitations of each procedure would be a step forward.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.68-75
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• 2018

Objectives : Since pain in cancer patients is an important factor that greatly affects the quality of life and prognosis, many attempts have been actively made to reduce the pain. Despite continuous effort on reducing pain after Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), research has not been done on psychological factors as much as on biological factors affecting pain. The objective of this study is to investigate the psychological factors affecting postoperative pain in gastric tumor patients who underwent gastric ESD. Methods : 91 gastric tumor patients who visited National Health Service Ilsan Hospital in Korean between May 2015 and June 2016, and received ESD were evaluated. Baseline characteristics including sociodemographic factors, anxiety, depression, and resilience were evaluated before the procedure. Multivariate logistic regression was done to analyze factors affecting postoperative pain. Results : The group with high postoperative pain showed lower alcohol consumption and higher depressive symptom scores than the group with low postoperative pain. Also, the group with high postoperative pain showed lower total resilience score with lower subtotal scores in self-control and positive item. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the postoperative pain showed that patients with lower score in self-control of resilience [odd ratio (OR), 0.911 ; 95% CI, 0.854-0.971, p=0.004) reported more pain after ESD. Conclusions : This study showed that patients with lower self-control ability of resilience felt more pain after ESD. Among the psychological factors evaluated in this study, resilience of an individual seems to have effect on pain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.640-645
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• 2017

Clerodendrum trichotomum (CT) leaves and stems have been used in folk medicine for their anti-hypertension, arthritis, rheumatism, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was performed to evaluate the potential of CT as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. CT leaves were extracted using 70% ethanol (EtOH). Then, using this extract, a hexane, chloroform ($CHCl_3$), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and n-butanol (BuOH) fraction was prepared. The polyphenol contents were higher in the EtOAc fraction ($78.08{\mu}g/mg$) and BuOH fraction ($77.54{\mu}g/mg$) compared to the other fractions. Also, these two fractions exhibited strong 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities. Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities were higher in the $CHCl_3$ fraction ($IC_{50}=4.43{\mu}g/ml$) and EtOAc fraction ($IC_{50}=5.69{\mu}g/ml$). Moreover, the EtOAc fraction effectively inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells ($IC_{50}=18.87{\mu}g/ml$). Thus, we investigated the effects of the EtOAc fraction on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The treatment of the EtOAc fraction ($100{\mu}g/ml$) effectively decreased the levels of the tumor necrosis factor ${\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). These results suggest the potential for CT extract and fractions as promising anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.283-294
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• 2020

In this study, in order to increase the utilization of Citrus junos seeds, which account for 13% of the weight ratio of Citrus junos ripened fruit, but are mostly discarded and not utilized, the efficacy of skin beauty of Citrus junos seed oil extracted by cold pressing was studied. Citrus junos seed oil was found to contain approximately 74% of unsaturated fatty acids consisting mainly of oleic acid and linoleic acid, and limonene, which is mainly contained in Citrus junos peel, contained a very low content of about 0.0187%. As a result of evaluating the DPPH radical scavenging activity of Citrus junos seed oil, 26% of DPPH radical scavenging ability was confirmed at 5% concentration of Citrus junos seed oil. To confirm the anti-inflammatory effect, as a result of testing RAW 264.7 cytotoxicity test and NO production for Citrus junos seed oil, NO production was suppressed by 53% at a concentration of 0.05% that does not show cytotoxicity. In addition, in the RBL-2H3 cytotoxicity and β-hexosaminidase release inhibitory efficacy test for anti-allergic efficacy confirmation, it was confirmed that β-hexosaminidas release was suppressed by 26% at a concentration of 0.05% that did not show cytotoxicity. Lastly, in the human skin application test result of O/W emulsion containing 5% of Citrus junos seed oil, it showed higher skin moisturizing effect than the control emulsion containing the same amount of caprylic/capric triglyceride. Therefore, it is thought that Citrus junos seed oil might be used as a excellent skin care material.

• 대한공업교육학회지
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.267-286
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• 2013

Recently, the advanced company has been sparing no efforts in improving necessary core knowledge and technology to achieve outstanding work performance. In this rapidly changing knowledge-based society, the company has confronted the task of creating a high value-added knowledge. The role of R&D workforce that corresponds to the characteristic and role of knowledge worker is getting more significant. As the life cycle of technical knowledge and skill shortens, in every industry, the technical knowledge and skill have become essential elements for successful business. It is difficult to improve competitiveness of the company without enhancing the competency of individual and organization. As the competency development which is a part of human resource management in the company is being spread now, it is required to focus on the research of determining necessary competency and to analyze the competency of a core organization in the research institute. 'H' is the semiconductor manufacturing company which has a affiliated research institute with its own R&D engineers. Based on focus group interview and job analysis data, vision and necessary competency were confirmed. And to confirm whether the required competency by job is different or not, analysis was performed by dividing members into workers who are in charge of circuit design and design before process development and who are in the process actualization and process development. Also, this research included members' importance awareness of the determined competency. The interview and job analysis were integrated and analyzed after arranging by groups and contents and the analyzed results were resorted after comparative analysis with a competency dictionary of Spencer & Spencer and competency models which are developed from the advanced research. Derived main competencies are: challenge, responsibility, and prediction/responsiveness, planning a new business, achievement -oriented, training, cooperation, self-development, analytic thinking, scheduling, motivation, communication, commercialization of technology, information gathering, professionalism on the job, and professionalism outside of work. The highly required competency for both jobs was 'Professionalism'. 'Attitude', 'Performance Management', 'Teamwork' for workers in charge of circuit design and 'Challenge', 'Training', 'Professionalism on the job' and 'Communication' were recognized to be required competency for those who are in charge of process actualization and process development. With above results, this research has determined the necessary competency that the 'H' company's affiliated research institute needs and found the difference of required competency by job. Also, it has suggested more enthusiastic education methods or various kinds of education by confirming the importance awareness of competency and individual's level of awareness about the competency.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.139-152
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to provide some suggestions for future improvement of scientific inquiry activities in Korean elementary science textbook. The modified framework of Lee(2005) and Millar et al.(1998) was used to compare inquiry activities in the Korean and Singaporean science textbooks. The results of this study are as follows: Korean text books have more activities than Singapore's, but both countries have similar time allotment for science classes. In the area of 'inquiry process skill', Singapore is more balanced in 'Basic inquiry process skills' and 'Integrated inquiry process skills' than Korea. Singapore's integrated inquiry rate is also higher than Korea's. Next the results of comparing leaning objectives to scientific inquiry activities shows that Korean text books tend to focus on 'contents objectives', while Singapore's text books focus on balancing 'contents objectives' and 'process objectives'. Korean science textbooks encourage students to communicate the results of experiments but in most case these communication activities are actually not performed. Lastly Korea and Singapore have low degree of openness in inquiry activities. Remarkably 'Suggest questions' are totally conducted by teachers. This study implies that Korean science textbooks should have lower amounts of inquiry activities to accomodate enough time for communication about results. Next we need to make balance not only 'Basic inquiry process skills' and 'Integrated inquiry process skills' but also 'Content objectives' and 'Process objectives'. Lastly we need to make student to be the leader in science classes through encouraging them to plan procedures for experiments and to discover results by themselves.