• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2021

Background: Many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients receiving monotherapy continue to experience symptoms, exacerbations and poor quality of life. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of direct switch from once-daily tiotropium (TIO) 18 ㎍ to indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY) 110/50 ㎍ once daily in COPD patients in Korea. Methods: This was a randomized, open-label, parallel group, 12-week trial in mild-to-moderate COPD patients who received TIO 18 ㎍ once daily for ≥12 weeks prior to study initiation. Patients aged ≥40 years, with predicted post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) ≥50%, post-bronchodilator FEV₁/forced vital capacity <0.7 and smoking history of ≥10 pack-years were included. Eligible patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either IND/GLY or TIO. The primary objective was to demonstrate superiority of IND/GLY over TIO in pre-dose trough FEV₁ at week 12. Secondary endpoints included transition dyspnea index (TDI) focal score, COPD assessment test (CAT) total score, and rescue medication use following the 12-week treatment, and safety assessment. Results: Of the 442 patients screened, 379 were randomized and 347 completed the study. IND/GLY demonstrated superiority in pre-dose trough FEV₁ versus TIO at week 12 (least squares mean treatment difference [Δ], 50 mL; p=0.013). Also, numerical improvements were observed with IND/GLY in the TDI focal score (Δ, 0.31), CAT total score (Δ, -0.81), and rescue medication use (Δ, -0.09 puffs/day). Both treatments were well tolerated by patients. Conclusion: A direct switch from TIO to IND/GLY provided improvements in lung function and other patient-reported outcomes with an acceptable safety profile in patients with mild-to-moderate airflow limitation.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.318-325
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• 2021

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of zebularine, a DNA methylation inhibitor, on the chromosomal association between homoeologous chromosomes in the wheat genetic background. Zebularine at a final concentration of 10 µM was used to treat the spikes of the double monosomic wheat addition line (DMA) with one Leymus mollis chromosome and one Leymus racemosus chromosome, both of which were in a homoeologous relationship. In late prophase, zebularine led to chromosome breakage in the Leymus homoeologous chromosomes. Chromosome breakage caused an increase in the frequency of chromosomal associations between the Leymus homoeologous chromosomes. Ordinary DMA showed 65 cells (35.3%) with chromosomal associations and 119 cells (64.7%) with no association, whereas treated DMA showed 102 cells (60.0%) with chromosomal associations and 67 cells (39.4%) with no association. In diakinesis, the Leymus bivalent showed a chromosomal association in the whole euchromatic region. In metaphase, the Leymus bivalent showed association in the whole chromosomal region, unlike other Leymus bivalents with partial chromosomal association. Chromosomal association by chromosome breakage occurred not only between Leymus chromosomes but also between Leymus and wheat chromosomes. The frequency of other chromosomal association (such as fusion and insert) was increased. Chromosome breakage by zebularine treatment is a useful method at the chromosome level as the spores with others are hereditary stable, although the homologous index (h) was not significantly different between ordinary DMA and treated DMA. It is necessary to study how to control zebularine treatment with a more stable concentration for chromosome breakage during meiosis.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2022

To test bee pollen as an ingredient for heat-processed foods, bee pollen was puffed under heat at various pressures and examined for its physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities. As the puffing intensity increased, the browning index, total reducing capacity, and DPPH radical scavenging activity of the bee pollen increased significantly (p<0.001). This was attributed to the formation of Maillard reaction products during the puffing process. The wheat flour-puff yeot-gangjeong added with puffed bee pollen showed significantly (p<0.01) higher antioxidant activities than its counterpart with raw bee pollen. In addition, the gangjeong retained the physicochemical characteristics of the puffed bee pollen such as color, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH. The results showed that the puffed bee pollen could potentially be used as an ingredient in thermally processed foods and retain its superior antioxidant properties.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.539-548
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• 2022

Objective : Although full-endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion (Endo-LIF) has been tried as the latest alternative technique to minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interobody fusion (MIS-TLIF) since mid-2010, the evidence is still lacking. We compared the clinical outcome and safety of Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF for lumbar degenerative disease. Methods : We systematically searched electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library to find literature comparing Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF. The results retrieved were last updated on December 11, 2020. The perioperative outcome included the operation time, blood loss, complication, and hospital stay. The clinical outcomes included Visual analog scale (VAS) of low back pain and leg pain and Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the radiological outcome included pseudoarthosis rate with 12-month minimum follow-up. Results : Four retrospective observational studies and one prospective observational study comprising 423 patients (183 Endo-LIF and 241 MIS-TLIF) were included, and the pooled data analysis revealed low heterogeneity between studies in our review. Baseline characteristics including age and sex were not different between the two groups. Operation time was significantly longer in Endo-LIF (mean difference [MD], 23.220 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.669-35.771; p=0.001). However, Endo-LIF resulted in less perioperative blood loss (MD, -144.710 mL; 95% CI, 247.941-41.478; p=0.023). Although VAS back pain at final (MD, -0.120; p=0.586), leg pain within 2 weeks (MD, 0.005; p=0.293), VAS leg pain at final (MD, 0.099; p=0.099), ODI at final (MD, 0.141; p=0.093) were not different, VAS back pain within 2 weeks was more favorable in the Endo-LIF (MD, -1.538; 95% CI, -2.044 to -1.032; p<0.001). On the other hand, no statistically significant group difference in complication rate (relative risk [RR], 0.709; p=0.774), hospital stay (MD, -2.399; p=0.151), and pseudoarthrosis rate (RR, 1.284; p=0.736) were found. Conclusion : Relative to MIS-TLIF, immediate outcomes were favorable in Endo-LIF in terms of blood loss and immediate VAS back pain, although complication rate, mid-term clinical outcomes, and fusion rate were not different. However, the challenges for Endo-LIF include longer operation time which means a difficult learning curve and limited surgical indication which means patient selection bias. Larger-scale, well-designed study with long-term follow-up and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm and update the results of this systematic review.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-241
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• 2022

Objectives: Asthma is a chronic disease, and the demand for herbal medicines in this field has increased in recent years. The new findings highlight the role of the gut-lung axis in the pathophysiology of asthma. Hence, this study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Glasthma syrup, an herbal formula based on Persian medicine, in improving asthma and regulating intestinal permeability. The formula consists of five herbal ingredients that have anti-inflammatory effects on the respiratory tract, also known as gut tonics. Methods: The study will be conducted as a placebo-controlled, triple-blind, randomized trial. It will consist of a 4-week intervention followed by a 4-week follow-up period. The target sample size is 20 patients with moderate asthma aged 18 to 60 years. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group in equal numbers. Patients in the experimental group will take Glasthma syrup (7.5 mL, twice a day), while patients in the control group will take a matching placebo. Both groups will receive a 4-week combination of a long-acting beta2 agonist and a leukotriene modulator as standard of care. Inhaled corticosteroids can be used as rescue medication as needed. Results: The primary outcomes are asthma symptom scale, lung function, and intestinal permeability. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, symptom recurrence rates, and blood tests. A safety assessment will also be conducted during the trial. Conclusion: In this trial, the effects of Glasthma syrup in patients with moderate asthma will be examined. The study will also assess the effects of the formulation on the gut-lung axis by simultaneously monitoring the gut permeability index, asthma symptoms, and lung function.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.65-80
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• 2022

Objective : This study examined the psychometric properties of the 12-item Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Scale (COPE) using Rasch analysis. COPE is one of the instruments used to measure stress-coping skills. Methods : The study participants were 480 community-dwelling older adults. We tested the instrument's unidimensionality assumption using principal component analysis (PCA). Item fit was examined using infit-and-outfit mean-square (MnSq) and standardized fit statistics (ZSTD). The precision and item difficulty hierarchies of the instrument were examined. The item-difficulty hierarchy was investigated to identify the easy and difficult items. We tested differential item functioning (DIF) for sex and age groups. Results : PCA revealed that the instrument met the unidimensionality assumption (eigenvalue = 1.78). Among the 12 items, item 2 was removed because of misfit (Infit MnSq = 1.33, Infit ZSTD = 5.05, Outfit MnSq = 1.56, Outfit ZSTD = 7.15). The remaining 11 items demonstrated a conceptual item-difficulty hierarchy. The person strata value was 3.10, which is equivalent to a reliability index value of 0.81. There was no DIF for the sex and age groups (DIF contrast <0.27). Conclusion : The findings indicated that the revised COPE-11 has adequate item-level psychometric properties and can accurately measure stress coping skills.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.360-365
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• 1991

This experiment was conducted to determine mechanized seeding ability of barley drill seeder on the seeding time, growth and yield of sorghum-sudangrass hybrid. The time required for machine drill seeding was 42 minutes per l0a which was one-thirteenth of the time required by the manual drill seeding, and percentage of seedling establishment by machine drill seeding was better than that of manual drill seeding. Leaf area index in seeding rate with 30 x 5cm and 40 x 5cm of machine drill seeding was higher than those of manual drill seeding, the leaf distribution was better and the total nonstructural carbohydrate content of stubble after cutting was short increased than that of manual drill seeding, Content of feed composition was not significantly different between manual and machine drill seeding. At seeding rate of 40 x 5cm of machine seeding. dry matter and TDN yield were increased to 29% and 30% respectiyely, than those of manual drill seeding.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 1995

This experiment was conducted to elucidate the effect of the midsummer drainage times on lodging characters, field lodging and yield in direct seeding rice culture in puddled soil. Dongjinbyeo was seeded at May 11 by seeding machine with 4cm of furrow depth and drained, one（50days after seeding DAS）） two （30DAS and 50DAS）, and three times （30DAS, and 50DAS and 60DAS）. The results are as follows. Culm length was shorten and the wall of N3, N4 were thicken as the drain-age times were increased. As the drainage times were increased breaking weights were increased but the lodging index were decreased. Lodging was occurred seriousely at none drainage, but wasn't occurred two or three times drainage. Yield was higher at 1~2 times drainage compared with none and three times drainage. Therefore, two times midsummer drainage is recommend-able water management method for direct seeding rice culture in puddled soil.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.32-61
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• 2023

To investigate the distribution of vascular plants growing at Wetland in Daegu·Gyeongbook, we surveyed from June 2020 to October in 2021. The flora of wetland was classified as a total of 459 taxa comprising of 104 families, 286 genus, 406 species, 12 subspecies, 34 varieties, 6 forma, 1 hybrid. Among them, the rare plants species 5 taxa, endemic plants 11 taxa, floristic regional indicator plants 57 taxa, naturalized plants 27 taxa and wetland plants 74 taxa were recorded. The percentage of urbanization index was 8.44%, the naturalized ratio was 5.88%, respectively.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.53-65
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• 2023

Objectives : Present study investigated the hepatoprotective effects and the optimal mixing ratio of fermented Schizandrae Fructus Pomace (fSFP) and Hoveniae Semen Cum Fructus (HSCF) extract combination in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced acute liver injury mice. Methods : ICR mice were orally administered with 200 mg/kg of fSFP, HSCF and mixtures of fSFP and HSCF [MSH (w:w); 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 2:1, 4:1, 6:1, and 8:1] for 7 consecutive days. Silymarin (100 mg/kg) was administered as a reference drug. 0.5 mL/kg of CCl₄ was injected intraperitoneally to induce acute liver injury. Body weight gain, relative liver weight, serum chemistry, histopathological analysis, and hepatic endogenous antioxidants capacities were observed. Results : All diverse combinations of MSH significantly reduced relative liver weight increase by CCl₄. In addition, MSH administrations significantly decreased the elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities by CCl₄. Histopathological observation indicated that all MSH treatments significantly reduced the increase of degenerated hepatocytes, inflammatory cell infiltration, and histological activity index score by CCl₄. Moreover, all MSH administrations reduced the elevation of malondialdehyde contents, and ameliorated the reduction of hepatic glutathione contents, superoxide dismutase activity, and catalase activity. Among the various mixing ratio of MSH combinations, MSH 1:1 and 2:1 showed the most potent anti-oxidative stress, and hepatoprotective effect. Conclusion : Present results suggest that 1:1 and 2:1 combinations of MSH is promising herbal formulation with the hepatoprotective effect against oxidative stress.