• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.392-401
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• 2018

Background: Physical activity (PA) is critical for maintaining the health and well-being of older people in community and also institutional settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of PA and related individual and organizational factors among older nursing home residents with and without dementia. Methods: This is a secondary data analysis study of a nationwide survey of 92 long-term care facilities in Korea, and the study sample includes older residents with dementia (n= 753) and without dementia (n= 480). The level of PA was measured by PA time and whether or not residents had an outdoor activity over the past 3 days. Multi-variate, multi-level analyses were conducted. Results: More than half of the sample in both groups had no or less than 1 hour of PA. About one out of four older people in our sample had no outdoor activity over the past 3 days regardless of whether or not they had dementia. Among the people without dementia, several individual-level factors were associated with PA, including dependency for activities of daily living, social activity participation, and caregivers' belief in the functional improvement of residents. Unlike the non-dementia group, individual- and organizationallevel factors including staffing level and having the relevant equipment for PA were associated with PA among those with dementia. Conclusion: Study findings provide evidence on the lack of PA among older nursing home residents, and the importance of institutional capacity with regard to human resources and physical equipment for promoting PA among people with dementia, in particular. Policies and supports are needed to promote the implementation of healthy aging programs including PA for older nursing home residents. Such programs should be person-centered with consideration to the physical and cognitive status of individual residents.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.279-284
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• 2020

The theory of "eccentric diseases are generally due to phlegm (怪病多屬痰)" means that phlegm is a major cause for intractable diseases including cerebrovascular accident, depression, insanity, and shock from strange things or evil sprint. It has been a key foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of phlegm in traditional Korean medicine. However, the origin of the theory is not clear and controversial. In this study, we critically reviewed the origin and developing process of the theory in the viewpoints of philology and pathology in Korean medicine. Wang Yin-Jun (王隱 君) did not claim that eccentric diseases are generally due to phlegm in Taidingyangshengzhu-lun (泰定養生主論). The miscitation by following medical literature caused the misunderstanding in the meaning of Taidingyangshengzhu-lun, that phlegm can cause variable symptoms and signs. In the Ming dynasty, some poor medical doctors had tended to diagnose any difficult case as phlegm syndrome and to use Kuntan-huan (滾痰丸) as a standard herbal formula for treating phlegm syndrome. However, the tendency to categorize delicate cases easily to phlegm syndrome is not desirable. Besides, the tendency to use Kuntan-huan as a basic formula for the phlegm syndrome might cause diverse and severe adverse effects. Thus, we cannot accept the theory of eccentric diseases is generally due to phlegm without a doubt. In conclusion, this theory might be a valuable aphorism in terms of considering the possibility of the secondary pathologic factors including phlegm and blood stasis which should be considered first in case of intractable diseases.

• BMB Reports
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.563-568
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• 2021

Cancer cells predominantly generate energy via glycolysis, even in the presence of oxygen, to support abnormal cell proliferation. Suppression of PDHA1 by PDK1 prevents the conversion of cytoplasmic pyruvate into Acetyl-CoA. Several PDK inhibitors have been identified, but their clinical applications have not been successful for unclear reasons. In this study, endogenous PDHA1 in A549 cells was silenced by the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and PDHA1^WT and PDHA1^3SD were transduced. Since PDHA1^3SD cannot be phosphorylated by PDKs, it was used to evaluate the specific activity of PDK inhibitors. This study highlights that PDHA1^WT and PDHA1^3SD A549 cells can be used as a cell-based PDK inhibitor-distinction system to examine the relationship between PDH activity and cell death by established PDK inhibitors. Leelamine, huzhangoside A and otobaphenol induced PDH activity-dependent apoptosis, whereas AZD7545, VER-246608 and DCA effectively enhanced PDHA1 activity but little toxic to cancer cells. Furthermore, the activity of phosphomimetic PDHA1 revealed the complexity of its regulation, which requires further in-depth investigation.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.53-77
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• 2012

Recently, the low fertility has been deepened because of the increase in women's economic activity, the advancement in standard of living, the rising cost of family maintenance, Therefore master plan for low fertility and aging society which is an overall response strategy for sudden increase in social costs was prepared. The most important point of the second basic plan is the reinforcement in child care support for all families and the balance of work & family. This paper shows the supporting policy for child raising in family and community as reality of policy for low fertility. The paper proposes child care support program(idolbom) as the supporting policy for child raising in family, education for men stimulating father's participation in child rearing, and sharing child care work in community in order to reinforce child care friendly environment.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.178-184
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• 2023

The objective of this study was to develop a critical pathway of integrative medicine to improve the quality of life of lung cancer patients who received standard western medicine treatments. A total of 10 medical professionals, including western and Korean medicine doctors, and nurses participated in a validation survey and revised clinical pathway. Then we applied the critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients who admitted at Korean medicine hospital and evaluated quality of life at the beginning and discharge of admission using European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ). More than 80% of the respondents gave a score of 3 (appropriate) or more for all items in the validation survey and we modified the clinical pathway by adding 'bed rest'to the activity item. When applying the revised critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients, the score of 'Nausea and vomiting', 'Insomnia' in EORTC QLQ-30 and 'chest pain'in EORTC LC-13 showed statistically significant improvements in the before-and-after admission comparision. The application of revised inpatient critical pathway of integrative medicine for lung cancer showed improvement in some symptoms. Development of more critical pathway in various clinical setting and larger scaled application studies of critical pathway are needed.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.316-328
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the prevalence and abundance of 9 representative periodontal pathogens in the saliva samples of periodontally healthy subjects (PH) and patients with periodontitis who underwent supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). The age-specific distribution of these pathogens in periodontally healthy individuals was also analyzed. Methods: One hundred subjects (aged >35 years) were recruited (50 each in the PH and SPT groups) between August 2016 and April 2019. The prevalence and abundance of periodontal pathogens in the PH group were compared with those in periodontally healthy young subjects (94 subjects; aged <35 years), who were included in our previous study. DNA copy numbers of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Tannerella forsythia (Tf), Treponema denticola (Td), Prevotella intermedia (Pi), Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), Campylobacter rectus (Cr), Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (Pa), and Eikenella corrodens (Ec) were analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The detection frequencies of all pathogens, except Aa, were high in the PH and SPT groups. The ranking order of pathogen DNA copy numbers was similar in both groups. In both groups, Fn had the highest abundance, Aa had the lowest abundance. Additionally, Td was significantly more abundant in men than in women in both groups (P<0.05). Compared with the PH group, the SPT group exhibited significantly lower total bacteria and Fn abundance and higher Pg abundance (P<0.05). The age-specific pathogen distribution analysis revealed a significantly low Aa abundance and high Tf and Cr abundance in the PH group. Conclusions: The clinical parameters and microbial profiles were similar between the SPT and PH groups. However, patients with periodontitis require supportive care to prevent recurrence. As the abundance of some bacteria varied with age, future studies must elucidate the correlation between age-related physiological changes and periodontal bacterial composition.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.82-88
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• 2020

With the development of medical care in the 21st century and the rapid development of the 4th industry, electronic devices and household goods taking into account the physical and mental aging of the silver generation have been developed, and apps related to health and health are generally developed and operated. The apps currently used by the silver generation are a form that provides information on diseases by focusing on prevention rather than treatment, such as safety management apps for the elderly living alone and methods for preventing diseases. There are not many apps that provide information on foods that have a direct effect and nutrients in that food, and research on apps that can obtain information about individual foods is insufficient. In this paper, we propose an app that analyzes food factors and provides self-medication for health promotion of the silver generation. This app allows the silver generation to conveniently and easily obtain information such as nutrients, calories, and efficacy of food they need. In addition, this app collects/categorizes healthy food information through a textom solution-based crawling agent, and stores highly relevant words in a data resource. In addition, wide deep learning was applied to enable self-medication recommendations for food. When this technique is applied, the most appropriate healthy food is suggested to people with similar eating patterns and tastes in the same age group, and users can receive recommendations on customized healthy foods that they need before eating. This made it possible to obtain convenient healthy food information through a customized interface for the elderly through a smartphone.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.883-898
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Probiotics have been suggested as potent modulators of age-related disorders in immunological functions, yet little is known about sex-dependent effects of probiotic supplements. Therefore, we aimed to investigate sex-dependent effects of probiotics on profiles of the gut microbiota and peripheral immune cells in healthy older adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, healthy elderly individuals ≥ 65 yrs old were administered probiotic capsules (or placebo) for 12 wk. Gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Peripheral immune cells were profiled using flow cytometry for lymphocytes (natural killer, B, CD4⁺ T, and CD8⁺ T cells), dendritic cells, monocytes, and their subpopulations. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, phylum Firmicutes was significantly reduced in the probiotic group in women, but not in men. At the genus level, sex-specific responses included reductions in the relative abundances of pro-inflammatory gut microbes, including Catabacter and unclassified_Coriobacteriales, and Burkholderia and unclassified Enterobacteriaceae, in men and women, respectively. Peripheral immune cell profiling analysis revealed that in men, probiotics significantly reduced the proportions of dendritic cells and CD14⁺ CD16^- monocytes; however, these effects were not observed in women. In contrast, the proportion of total CD4⁺ T cells was significantly reduced in women in the probiotic group. Additionally, serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein levels showed a decreasing tendency that were positively associated with changes in gut bacteria, including Catabacter (ρ = 0.678, P < 0.05) and Burkholderia (ρ = 0.673, P < 0.05) in men and women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that probiotic supplementation may reduce the incidence of inflammation-related diseases by regulating the profiles of the gut microbiota and peripheral immune cells in healthy elders in a sex-specific manner.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.466-478
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• 2003

This study was to evaluate the body composition and bone mineral density according to aging in adult and investigated the relationship between various parameters such as body mass index(BMI), bone mineral density(BMD), bone mineral content(BMC), lean body mass(LBM), fat mass(FM) and the value obtained from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA). The subjects were composed of healthy adult male and female who were $20^{\sim}73$ years old and they were divided three group according to age (A group : 20-39 yrs., B group : 40-59 yrs., C group : more than 60 yrs.). The conclusion derived from statistical analysis was as follows : 1. Bone mineral content and density were significantly affected by lean body mass(relatively, R=0.85 - 0.63). 2. There was significant difference among age groups in total bone mineral density. 3. There was significant difference among age groups in bone mineral content of male and female. 4. Lean body mass is diminished according to age, but there was not significant difference among age groups. 5. Fat mass of A group in male had the highest mass and followed by C group and B group. In female groups, fat mass of A group had the highest mass and followed by B group and C group. Abdominal fat mass is increased according to age. This result suggest that aging was closely relation with loss of muscle mass, bone mineral density and bone mineral content.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.301-305
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• 2014

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal thresholds of serum lipid level related to hypertension according to age in Korean adults. METHODS: In total, 564 adults who visited the health examine center in general hospital were included. The blood pressure and lipid profiles of low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglyceride(TG) were measured. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to establish optimal thresholds between blood pressure and lipid profiles. RESULTS: The optimal TG cutoff value were 110.50(mg/dl) in the 18-39 and 81.50(mg/dl) in the 40-59 age group, and optimal cutoff value of LDL were 126.50(mg/dl) in the 40-59 age group and 111.00(mg/dl) in the 60 and over age group. There was a negative correlation between HDL and hypertension, a higher HDL decreased hypertension. The optimal cutoff value of HDL was 49.50(mg/dl) in the 18-39 age group. CONCLUSION: The thresholds of hypertension were lower in LDL and TG with aging. This result indicated that elderly people needs to concern more about their lipid profiles to maintain healthy cardiovascular function.