• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.447-451
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• 2008

This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in privately owned pet dog's oral cavity samples (saliva, dental plaque, vomitus) and fecal samples in Korea and to evaluate the potential route for transmission. Total 100 patients dogs attending one Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital were examined by Helicobacter genus-specific PCR assay and these dogs were divided into two groups whether they had gastrointestinal signs (vomiting, nausea and diarrhea) or not. The total detection rate of Helicobacter spp. by PCR in saliva, dental plaque and fecal samples was 23%, 1% and 68% respectively. The difference of prevalence with regarding the gastrointestinal sings was not significant. In vomitus, two of seven samples had positive results. These results suggested that Helicobacter spp. are present in the oral cavity although they were present in very low number and are not like to be normal oral flora of the oral cavity and Helicobacter spp. in dogs could be transmitted through oral-oral, gastrooral and fecal-oral route.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.88-104
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the effectiveness and satisfaction of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) after gynecological surgery. Methods: The study is conducted by analyzing the medical records of hospitalized patients in a Korean medicine hospital. Sixty-five patients who received TKM for ERAS after gynecological surgery from May 2020 to July 2021 were included. We performed statistical analysis by using SPSS ver. 25.0. To verify the effect of TKM for ERAS, we analyzed improvement of symptoms. Also, we analyzed survey of patients' satisfaction to verify the satisfaction of TKM for ERAS. Results: Among the symptoms of pain, there was a statistically significant decrease in all types of pain on the questionnaire. Other systemic symptoms showed statistically significant improvement in all symptoms on the questionnaire. The satisfaction level questionnaires for TKM for ERAS showed a mean value of 4.37±0.63 out of 5-point scale. Especially, herbal medicine, acupuncture, and moxibustion showed high satisfaction without dissatisfaction. Conclusions: The result has shown that TKM for ERAS after gynecological surgery is effective and the satisfaction of the patients is high. Further study on TKM for ERAS for quality of life assessment is needed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3907-3912
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• 2023

Radiation portal monitors (RPMs) installed at airports and harbors to prevent illicit trafficking of radioactive materials generally use large plastic scintillators. However, their energy resolution is poor and radionuclide identification is nearly unfeasible. In this study, to improve isotope identification, a RPM system based on a multi-array plastic scintillator and convolutional neural network (CNN) was evaluated by measuring the spectra of radioactive sources. A multi-array plastic scintillator comprising an assembly of 14 hexagonal scintillators was fabricated within an area of 50 × 100 cm². The energy spectra of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁶⁰Co, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴K (KCl) were measured at speeds of 10-30 km/h, respectively, and an energy-weighted algorithm was applied. For the CNN, 700 and 300 spectral images were used as training and testing images, respectively. Compared to the conventional plastic scintillator, the multi-arrayed detector showed a high collection probability of the optical photons generated inside. A Compton maximum peak was observed for four moving radiation sources, and the CNN-based classification results showed that at least 70% was discriminated. Under the speed condition, the spectral fluctuations were higher than those under dwelling condition. However, the machine learning results demonstrated that a considerably high level of nuclide discrimination was possible under source movement conditions.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.43.1-43.11
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• 2020

Capicua (CIC) is a transcriptional repressor that regulates several developmental processes. CIC deficiency results in lymphoproliferative autoimmunity accompanied by expansion of CD44^hiCD62L^lo effector/memory and follicular Th cell populations. Deletion of Cic alleles in hematopoietic stem cells (Vav1-Cre-mediated knockout of Cic) causes more severe autoimmunity than that caused by the knockout of Cic in CD4⁺CD8⁺ double positive thymocytes (Cd4-Cre-mediated knockout of Cic). In this study, we compared splenic CD4⁺ T cell activation and proliferation between whole immune cell-specific Cic-null (Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre) and T cell-specific Cic-null (Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre) mice. Hyperactivation and hyperproliferation of CD4⁺ T cells were more apparent in Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre mice than in Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre mice. Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre CD4⁺ T cells more rapidly proliferated and secreted larger amounts of IL-2 upon TCR stimulation than did Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre CD4⁺ T cells, while the TCR stimulation-induced activation of the TCR signaling cascade and calcium flux were comparable between them. Mixed wild-type and Cic^f/f;Vav1-Cre bone marrow chimeras also exhibited more apparent hyperactivation and hyperproliferation of Cic-deficient CD4⁺ T cells than did mixed wild-type and Cic^f/f;Cd4-Cre bone marrow chimeras. Taken together, our data demonstrate that CIC deficiency at the beginning of T cell development endows peripheral CD4⁺ T cells with enhanced T cell activation and proliferative capability.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated the effects of an iterative reconstruction algorithm and an automatic exposure control (AEC) technique on image quality and radiation dose through phantom experiments with coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography protocols. We scanned the AAPM CT performance phantom using 320 multi-detector-row CT. At the tube voltages of 80, 100, and 120 kVp, the scanning was repeated with two settings of the AEC technique, i.e., with the target standard deviations (SD) values of 33 (the higher tube current) and 44 (the lower tube current). The scanned projection data were reconstructed also in two ways, with the filtered back projection (FBP) and with the iterative reconstruction technique (AIDR-3D). The image quality was evaluated quantitatively with the noise standard deviation, modulation transfer function, and the contrast to noise ratio (CNR). More specifically, we analyzed the influences of selection of a tube voltage and a reconstruction algorithm on tube current modulation and consequently on radiation dose. Reduction of image noise by the iterative reconstruction algorithm compared with the FBP was revealed eminently, especially with the lower tube current protocols, i.e., it was decreased by 46% and 38%, when the AEC was established with the lower dose (the target SD=44) and the higher dose (the target SD=33), respectively. As a side effect of iterative reconstruction, the spatial resolution was decreased by a degree that could not mar the remarkable gains in terms of noise reduction. Consequently, if coronary CT angiogprahy is scanned and reconstructed using both the automatic exposure control and iterative reconstruction techniques, it is anticipated that, in comparison with a conventional acquisition method, image noise can be reduced significantly with slight decrease in spatial resolution, implying clinical advantages of radiation dose reduction, still being faithful to the ALARA principle.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.1231-1244
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to report the glucose-lowering effect and safety of herbal extracts in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: We investigated 21 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were administered Daeshiho-tang, Bojungikgi-tang, Jowiseunggi-tang, and Hoechunyanggyeok-san at Kyung-Hee University Korean Medical Hospital from 2014 to 2019. The hypoglycemic effect of the herbal extracts was assessed by comparing blood glucose levels, including fasting blood sugar (FBS) and 2-hour postprandial glucose (PP2) levels. For safety assessment, the effects of herbal extracts on liver and kidney function were analyzed by liver function tests, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and kidney function tests, including blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr). Patients were stratified according to their glycated hemoglobin (<6.5 or >6.5) levels and the kind of herbal extract used for treatment. Results: After administration of herbal extracts, FBS and PP2 significantly decreased to 20.24 mg/dL and 35.0 mg/dL respectively. Subgroup analysis revealed that, regardless of the glycated hemoglobin level, FBS and PP2 were significantly reduced in both groups. The safety profile showed no significant difference before and after taking herbal extracts. Conclusions: Daeshigo-tang, Bojungikgi-tang, Jowiseunggi-tang, and Hoechunyanggyeok-san may show the further glucose-lowering effects on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who have already treated with anti-hyperglycemic agents.