• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.121-127
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• 2011

Objectives : To introduce the Jeongham Therapy which means a mandibul-rectifying treatment. And to show meaningful changes of thoracic kypkosis and lumbar lordosis by the Jeongham Therapy. Methods : We reviewed 8 patients having abnormal thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis who were treated at the JeongHam Korean Medical Clinic. We measured thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis by 3D Body Analyzer 'IBS 2000'. Results : Between before and after the Jeongham Therapy, statically significant differences were found in the thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. And in these values of measurements, the thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis diminish after the Jeongham Therapy. Conclusion : These results suggest that the Jeongham Therapy is a meaningful therapy to diminish the thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2020

Background: A typical plank exercise (PE) strengthens the core muscles, stabilizes the spinal column, and provides stability around the pelvis and trunk when the trunk is aligned. However, because PE require that the hip joint be kept straight, they can activate the hamstring (HAM). Excessive HAM activation can induce tightness, which may cause low back pain. Therefore, it is necessary to explore PE methods that can minimize HAM activity while maximizing core muscle activity. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: This study included 30 healthy adults as subjects. We measured the activity of the HAM and the erector spinae (ES), rectus abdominis (RA), and external oblique (EO) muscles using surface electromyography during three PEs (typical PE, PE with balance pad, and PE with sling). Results: The RA, EO, and ES showed the highest muscular activity during PE with balance pad and the lowest during PE with sling; however, the differences were not significant. The HAM showed lower activity during PE with sling than during the other two PEs; however, these differences were also not significant. Conclusion: Although HAM activation was not significantly difference among PE positions, we should recognize altering activation of core and hamstring muscle according to PE postures.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.15-22
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine the muscle activities of the erector spinae (ES), gluteus maximus (Gmax), gluteus medius (Gmed), and the hamstring (HAM) and the ratios of Gmax/ES, Gmax/HAM, and Gmed/HAM during the prone heel squeeze (PHS) with different knee flexion angles ($45^{\circ}$, $90^{\circ}$, and $135^{\circ}$). Fifteen young and healthy subjects (8 men, 7 women) were recruited for the study. Surface electromyography signals were collected on ES, Gmax, Gmed, and HAM during PHS. A separate one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to determine the significance of the muscle activities of ES, Gmax, Gmed, and HAM and the ratios of Gmax/ES, Gmax/HAM, and Gmed/HAM with different knee flexion angles during PHS. There was a significant increase in the Gmax activity at the knee flexion of $90^{\circ}$ in comparison with that of the $45^{\circ}$ (p=.016). There were significant increases in the Gmed activity at the knee flexion of $90^{\circ}$ (p=.008) and $135^{\circ}$ (p=.006) in comparison with that of the $45^{\circ}$. There were significant decreases in the HAM activity at the knee flexion of $90^{\circ}$ (p=.009) and $135^{\circ}$ (p=.004) in comparison with that of the $45^{\circ}$. There were significant increases in the Gmax/HAM muscle activity ratio at the knee flexion of $90^{\circ}$ (p=.007) and $135^{\circ}$ (p=.012) in comparison with that of the $45^{\circ}$. There were significant increase in the Gmed/HAM muscle activity ratio at the knee flexion of $135^{\circ}$ in comparison with that of the $45^{\circ}$ (p=.008). The knee flexion of $90^{\circ}$ during PHS can induce decreasing activity of HAM and increasing activity of Gmax, and the knee flexion of $135^{\circ}$ during PHS can induce decreasing activity of HAM and increasing activity of Gmed. Hence, PHS with different knee flexion positions could be considered for the different target muscle.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.38-44
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different postural correction in the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trunk and hip muscles during bridging exercises. Twenty-four healthy subjects volunteered for this study. The muscle activity was recorded with surface electrodes over the erector spinae, multifidus, gluteus maximus (GM), and hamstring (Ham) muscles; it was measured by using surface EMG equipment under the following 3 experimental conditions: manual postural correction, verbal correction, and no correction. The maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was determined for each muscle group in order to represent each exercise as a percentage of MVIC and allow for standardized comparison between subjects. A one-way analysis of variance was used to determine significant differences in the EMG activities of each muscle between the 3 experimental groups. During bridging exercises, the manual postural correction on normalized EMG activity of the GM muscle during manual guiding was significantly higher than during verbal guiding and without guiding (p<.05). Furthermore, the GM/Ham ratio was significantly higher during manual guiding than during verbal guiding and without guiding (p<.05). These findings suggest that the activities of the hip and trunk muscles may be favorably modified with manual guiding during bridging exercises.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.35-42
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• 2009

Background: The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of influence of taping and a whole body balance upon muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility. Experiments were conducted by two different groups, specially designed for this study. The choice of exercise methods for each group depends on its own idiosyncratic characteristics (or Each group employs its own idiosyncratic exercise method). Methods: The first group, with taping applied, undertook exercises three times a week; second group just took exercises three times a week. These experiments show the following outcomes. Results: The first group showed a considerable amount of difference in terms of muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility. Second group also showed similar outcome. Both the first group and the second group revealed a considerable difference. But the first group showed a bigger difference than the second group. Conclusion: Thus, the result of these experiments strongly indicates that exercise, with taping applied, turns out the most effective in promoting muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.174-180
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• 2018

Objective: Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) is one of the common nosocomial infections. As elderly population increases, the proper treatment has been emphasized. We investigated the risk factors associated with CDI unimprovement in elderly patients. Furthermore, we performed drug use evaluation of old CDI patients and oldest-old CDI patients. Methods: It was a retrospective study using electronic medical record at Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center (KBSMC) from January 2016 to December 2017. Seventy three patients aged 65 years or older, diagnosed with CDI by Clostridium difficile Toxin B Gene [Xpert] were screened and they were assessed for risk factors regarding unimprovement status. We also evaluated drug use evaluation in old patients ($65{\leq}age$<80) and oldest-old patients ($80{\leq}age$) by assessing the use of initial therapy, severity, dose, route, treatment course, days of use, total days of use and treatment outcome of initial therapy. Results: Out of 73 patients aged over 65 years, four patients were excluded because they did not receive any treatment. There were 31 improved patients and 38 unimproved patients after initial therapy. We were able to find out patients with surgical comorbidity or endocrine comorbidity (especially, diabetes mellitus) had 2.885 more risk of becoming unimproved than those patients without surgical comorbidity or endocrine comorbidity. Drug use evaluation for CDI was generally fair, but vancomycin as initial therapy is more recommended than metronidazole. Conclusion: Although age, antibiotics exposure, use of antacids are all important risk factors for CDI, our result did not show statistical significance for these risk factors. However, the study is meaningful because the number of elderly population keeps increasing and recently updated guideline suggests the use of vancomycin as drug of choice for CDI.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.58-67
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based Body-Mind Intervention Program using marine resources on the improvement of quality of sleep, mood symptoms, and cognitive function in Korean female emotional labor workers. Methods: Twelve female workers who experienced excess emotional labor participated at the training camp program for five days in Danghangpo-ocean park, Goseung-gun, Gyeongnam Province in South Korea. Participant sleep quality, mood symptoms, and cognitive functioning before, after, and 1.5 months later were evaluated and analyzed. Results: After participating in the marine resource program, participants reported significantly decreased sleep latency. Global sleep quality, cognitive functions (attention, flexibility, and inhibition control), and mood states, including depression, tension, anger, fatigue, were also improved. These effects were generally maintained after 1. 5 months (PSQI t = 2.63, p = 0.02 ; HAM-D t = 5.92, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A Body-Mind Intervention Program using marine resources was effective in relaxing emotion-related tension and improving cognitive function. To advance this pilot study, it is necessary to carry out further research to investigate the use of marine resources in mental health interventions.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2006

Telomerase activation is detected in most cancerous cells; hence, telomerase is a highly selective target for cancer therapy, which plays an important role in the apoptotic process. We have previously reported that the ginseng saponin metabolite, Compound K (20-O-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol, IH901), inhibits cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the $G_1$ phase. The present study investigated the regulation of telomerase activity in Compound K treated U937 cells. Compound K treatment caused a reduction in telomerase activity and down-regulated the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene, resulting in the decreased expressions of its protein, and of the c-Myc and Spl proteins (transcription factors of hTERT). These results indicate that the anticancer activity of Compound K could be mediated by inhibition of the telomerase activity.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 2012

The computational human phantom including major radiation sensitive organs at risk (OARs) can be used in the field of radiotherapy, such as the variation of secondary cancer risks caused by the radiation therapy and the effective dose evaluation in diagnostic radiology. The present study developed a Korean adult female voxel phantom, VKH-Woman, based on serially sectioned color slice images of Korean female cadaver. The height and weight of the developed female voxel phantom are 160 cm and 52.72 kg, respectively that are virtually close to those of reference Korean female (161 cm and 54 kg). The female phantom consists of a total of 39 organs, including 27 organs recommended in the ICRP 103 publication for the effective dose calculations. The female phantom composes of $261{\times}109{\times}825$ voxels (=23,470,425 voxels) and the voxel resolution is $1.976{\times}1.976{\times}2.0619mm^3$ in the x, y, and z directions. The VHK-Woman is provided as both ASCII and Binary data formats to be conveniently implemented in Monte Carlo codes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.298-309
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• 2000

Background : The antitumor effects of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and ganciclovir (GCV) strategies for cancer gene therapy have a the following advantages : 1) a direct cytotoxicity to HSV-tk modified cancer cells by GCV 2) a cell death by the local transfer of toxic metabolites from the HSV-tk modified cells to nearby unmodified tumor cells (bystander effect), and 3) in vivo bystander effect such as antitumor-immunity. Retroviral and adenoviral sequences can silence transgene expression in cells and mice. In this study, we investigated the above described advantages of HSV-tk/GCV strategy in Lewis lung cell and mouse lung cancer model using retroviral vector and adenoviral vector. Also, we observed whether the expression of a silenced gene can be reactivated by treating cells with butyrate. Methods : Retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors were used for the transduction of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. The change of HSV-tk expression by butyrate was measured by Western blol The antitumor activities containing bystander effect were observed in vivo (by MTT assay) and in vivo tumor models of various combinations of LLC and LLC-tk. Results : 1. Butyrate induced the enhancement of HSV-tk expression from adenovirally transduced cells but not from retrovirally transduced cells. 2. Both retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors with GCV treatment were effective for killing of tumor cell in vitro and suppression of LLC tumorigenicity. Bystander effect was responsible for killing of mixture of LLC-tk and LLC in vitro and in vivo-tumorigenicity model. Conclusion : Butyrate could augment adenovirus-mediated HSV -tk gene expression. Cancer gene therapy with HSV-tk suicide gene by retroviral and adenoviral vector seems to be an effective approach for lung cancer therapy.