• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of systemic chronic inflammatory state on dry eye syndrome as a local chronic inflammatory condition. From June 16, 2016 to December 31, 2016, 726 patients who visited the general health examination center were screened using the Schirmer's test and the metabolic syndrome screening test. A total of 214 patients who were studied for hs-CRP and HbA1c were simultaneously selected for the study as well. Dry eye syndrome significantly increased in higher age groups (p<0.001) and women (p=0.020); there was no significant relationship with fasting plasma glucose, hs-CRP. In addition, as HbA1c increased the risk for dry eye syndrome also increased (β=1.960, p=0.025). Therefore, dry eye syndrome may not caused by microvascular changes in the lacrimal gland due to chronic inflammatory conditions. In diabetic patients, long-term blood glucose control may be more important than short-term blood glucose control. The high prevalence of dry eye syndrome in diabetic patients is thought to be due to autonomic dysfunction rather than microvascular changes caused by chronic inflammation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2009

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the diagnostic performance of transabdominal ultrasound by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, in order to evaluate the usefulness in establishing the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Questionnaires were given to 8,793 reproductive women reviewed at Ewha Womans University Mokdong hospital. Ultrasound examinations were performed in 701 women with a transabdominal transducer. Transabdominal ultrasounds were performed in 185 normal control women (normal menstruation without hyperandrogenism or PCO morphology) and 248 PCOS patients according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) PCOS diagnosis criteria. ROC curves were calculated for ovarian volume and follicle number. Results: In normal control group, the mean age were $23.64{\pm}4.26$ years old and the mean ovarian volume and follicle number were $6.03{\pm}1.89\;cm^3$ and $6.49{\pm}1.93$, respectively. The ovarian volume showed an area under the ROC curve (AURC) of 0.761. A ovarian volume decision threshold >$9\;cm^3$ had a sensitivity of 51.0% and a specificity of 91.4% for the diagnosis of PCOS. The follicle number showed an AURC of 0.733. A follicle number decision threshold ${\geq}9$ had a sensitivity of 54.9% and a specificity of 87.0% for the diagnosis of PCOS. A follicle number decision threshold ${\geq}10$ had a sensitivity of 53.2% and a specificity of 90.4%. A follicle number and a ovarian volume did not have a high diagnostic power for screening for PCOS. Conclusion: Our results suggest that transabdominal ultrasound assessment is not effective for the detection of PCOS in young women of reproductive age.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2000

Objectives: With the recent advances and increasing use of imaging techniques in examination of the neck, the incidence of incidentally discovered thyroid carcinoma has been increasing. This study was carried out to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of incidental thyroid carcinomas and to find optimal therapeutic strategies for these lesions. Materials & Methods: From Jan. 1988 to Aug. 1998, 1,053 patients were operated on for thyroid cancer, of whom 127(12.1%) had incidentally discovered thyroid cancers which were identified during routine health checkups(n=40), diagnostic procedures for unrelated medical conditions(n=39) and mass screening for thyroid cancer(n=48). The preoperative diagnosis was obtained by ultrasound-guided FNAB and the extent of surgery was determined based on frozen section examinations, as well as prognostic factors and gross findings at the time of surgery. Results: There were 6 men and 121 women with a mean age of 45.9 years. Histopathological diagnosis included papillary carcinomas(n=1l9), follicular carcinomas(n=6), poorly differentiated carcinoma(n=l) and medullary carcinoma(n=1). Thirty patients(23.6%) had multifocallesions. The mean diameter of the tumors was 1.1 cm(0.2-3.4 cm). Capsular invasions were found in 53 patients(41.7%) and nodal metastases in 41(32.3%). The surgical procedures used were: 90 less-than total thyroidectomies and 37 total thyroidectomies with central neck node dissection. Lateral neck dissection was added in 5 patients. According to TNM staging, 79 patients(63.2%) were at stage I, 15(12.0%) at stage II, 31(24.8%) at stage III and 0(0.0%) at stage IV. By AMES scoring system, 102 patients(81.6%) were in the low-risk group and 23(18.4%) in the high-risk group. And by MACIS scoring system, 103(86.6%) of 119 papillary thyroid cancer patients were less than 6. Conclusions: The clinicopathological characteristics of incidentally discovered thyroid carcinomas are similar to ordinary thyroid carcinomas. The treatment of choice should be individualized based on the particular clinical situation encountered, as in ordinary thyroid carcinomas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.308-315
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• 2011

We investigated ${\alpha}$-amylase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and lipase inhibitory activity of extracts collected from wild plants in Gangwon-do. 90 wild plants were collected and their water and ethanol extracts were obtained. Results of measuring ${\alpha}$-amylase inhibitory activity indicated more than 80% of activity inhibition in 10 mg/mL concentration for ethanol extracts of three plants and water extracts of two plants. For ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity, ethanol extracts of thirteen plants and water extracts of three plants showed more than 80% of activity inhibition in 10 mg/mL concentration. In the experiment of inhibiting lipase activity, ethanol extracts of seven plants and water extracts of one plants showed above 80% of activity inhibition in 10 mg/mL concentration. These results suggest that the selected extracts could be potentially used as a resource of bioactive materials for health functional foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.359-363
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• 2016

We have screened four natural products against 640 single compounds, which shows more two folds gene expression for both endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) and FOXO-family transcription factor (FOXO1). The results were as follows. (±)-Car-3-ene-2,5-dione from Asarum sieboldii Miq. is C₁₀H₁₂O₂ molecular formula and the 164 kDa molecular weight. Cinobufagin from Bufonis Venennum is C₂₆H₃₄O₆ molecular formula and 442 kDa molecular weight. So far reported main biological function is Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase inhibition. Corilagin from Euphorbia pekinensis is C₂₇H₂₂O₁₈ molecular formula and 634 kDa molecular weight. Carbonic anhydrase inhibition is well known its biological function. Corydaline from Corydalis turtschaninovii is C₂₂H₂₇NO₄ molecular formula and 369 kDa molecular weight. The main biological function is acetylcholinesterase inhibition. In the short future, four types of natural products will be used in longevity experiments with insects. The results may give one of the clues for studying new drug development candidates of the longevity.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.348-352
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• 2002

This study was carried out to evaluate cytotoxic effects of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (A. macrocephala Koidz.) extract on NIH 3T3 fibloblast. SK-MEL-3 (HBT 69) and KB (ATCC No, OCL 17) cell lines. Disruptions in cell organelles were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay. 10.2 mg/ml Concentration of A. macrocephala Koidz. extracts in SK-MEL-3 showed that their susceptibility (sensitivity) to these compounds decreased in the following order ; adriamycin > H₂O > ethyl acetate > ethyl alcohol > chloroform > n-hexane in SK-MEL-3 cell lines ; 5-FU > H₂O > n-hexane > ethyl acetate > ethyl alcohol > chloroform in KB cell lines. In order to develop an antimicrobial agent, A. macrocephala Koidz. was extracted with solvents. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of each solvent extract of A. macrocephala Koidz. against microogranisms were also examined. Antimicrobial activities of ampicillin and ketoconazole as references were compared to those of each solvent extract of A. macrocephala Koidz. The antimicrobial activity of the ethyl acetate soluble extract of A. macrocephala Koidz. had growth inhibition activity against S. mutans and P. putida (MICs. 500 ㎍/ml). These results suggest that the ethyl acetate soluble extract of A. macrocephala Koidz. possessed antitumorous and antimicrobial agents

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.62-71
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• 2008

Soil quality standards (SQS) are necessary to protect the human health and soil biota from the exposure to soil pollutants. The current SQS in Korea contain only sixteen substances, and it is scheduled to expand the number of substances. Chemical ranking and scoring (CRS) system is very effective to screen the priority chemicals for the future SQS in terms of their toxicity and exposure potential. In this study, several CRS systems were extensively compared to propose the assessment factors that required for the screening of soil pollutants The CRS systems considered in this study include the CHEMS-1 (Chemical Hazard Evaluation for Management Strategies), SCRAM (Scoring and Ranking Assessment Model), EURAM (European Union Risk Ranking Method), ARET (Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics), CRSKorea, and other systems. The additional assessment factors of CRS suitable for soil pollutants were suggested. We suggest soil adsorption factor as an appropriate factor of CRS system to consider chemical transport from soil to groundwater. Other factors such as soil emission rate and cases of accident of soil pollutants were included. These results were reflected to screen the priority chemicals in Korea, as a part of the project entitled ‘Setting the Priority of Soil Contaminants'.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.325-333
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• 2011

This study was carried out to evaluate biological activities to different ethanol extracts from unripened and ripened fruit (Rubus coreanus Miq.). 25% to 75% ethanol extracts of unripened and ripened fruits were similar to extract yield respectively. Yield of ethanol extract of ripened fruit were approximately 3 times higher than that of unripened fruit. 75% ethanol extract of unripened fruit showed the highest contents of total polyphenol ($180.04{\pm}0.41$ mg/g) and total flavonoid ($50.43{\pm}0.81$ mg/g). Contents of total polyphenol and total flavonoid of unripened fruit were about 2 times higher than those of ripened fruit. $IC_{50}$ values of DPPH radical scavenging activity and linoleic acid peroxidation inhibition activity of BHA and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol showed $13.19{\pm}0.21$ and $18.16{\pm}0.23{\mu}g/m{\ell}$, $4.25{\pm}0.04{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and $5.56{\pm}0.10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ respectively, but 75% ethanol extract of unripened fruit showed the lowest $23.85{\pm}0.10{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and $7.34{\pm}0.07{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ among other all extracts. $IC_{50}$ values of LDL (low density lipoprotein) oxidation inhibition activity and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory activity of 75% ethanol extract of unripened fruit showed the lowest $1.04{\pm}0.04{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and $7.21{\pm}0.13{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ among other all extracts respectively. Specifically, 75% ethanol extract of unripened fruit has relatively better biological activities than other ethanol extracts, it could be potentially used as bioactive source for health functional foods.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2010

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a health concern in Korea despite major progress in the development of new strategies for diagnosing and treating tuberculosis. In particular, the diagnosis of newly developed pulmonary tuberculosis is on the rise in elderly persons. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, radiographic characteristics, and treatment outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly. Methods: The medical records of 113 young (<65 years old) and 112 elderly (${\geq}65$ years old) pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed at Chungnam National University hospital between January 2007 and December 2008 were reviewed. Results: There was no difference in the prevalence of typical symptoms between the younger and the elderly group. Dypsnea was the only symptom that occurred more frequently in the elderly group (16.8% vs 5.5%, p=0.008). On radiological study, pneumonic infiltration type was more common in the elderly group (28.6% vs 16.8%, p=0.035). Sputum Acid fast bacilli smear positivity rate was similar between the 2 groups. Elderly patients with anti-tuberculosis medication had more frequent adverse drug reactions; however, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the number of patients required to stop medication due to an adverse drug reaction. There were more patients lost to follow-up in the elderly group (22/112, 19.6% vs 11/113, 9.7%, p=0.036). Conclusion: The majority of elderly patients did not complete the treatment, resulting in a poorer outcome. Therefore, we need to make an effort to support the continued screening of elderly patients by making this economically feasible.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.507-515
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• 2015

This paper suggests 6 cases of TFA parameters algorithm(Mean, VA, RS, SKEW, UN, EN) to search for the detection of recognition rates regarding breast disease using CAD on ultrasound images. Of the patients who visited a university hospital in Busan city from August 2013 to January 2014, 90 cases of breast ultrasound images based on the findings in breast US and pathology were selected. $50{\times}50$ pixel size ROI was selected from the breast US images. After pre-processing histogram equalization of the acquired test images(negative, benign, malignancy), we calculated results of TFA algorithm using MATLAB. As a result, in the TFA parameters suggested, the disease recognition rates for negative and malignancy was as high as 100%, and negative and benign was approximately 83~96% for the Mean, SKEW, UN, and EN. Therefore, there is the possibility of auto diagnosis as a pre-processing step for a screening test on breast disease. A additional study of the suggested algorithm and the responsibility and reproducibility for various clinical cases will determine the practical CAD and it might be possible to apply this technique to range of ultrasound images.