• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1021-1028
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• 2009

Purpose:Medical therapy is the initial treatment for children with Graves disease to avoid complications of other treatments. However, optimal treatment for childhood Graves disease is controversial because most patients require relatively long periods of medical therapy and relapse is common after medication discontinuation. Therefore, this study aimed to search clinical or biochemical characteristics that could be used as remission predictors in Graves disease. Methods:We retrospectively studied children diagnosed with Graves disease, treated with anti-thyroid agents, and observed for at least 3 years. Patients were categorized into remission and non-remission groups, and the groups were compared to determine the variables that were predictive of achieving remission. Results:Sixty-four patients were enrolled, of which 37 (57.8%) achieved remission and 27 (42.2%) could not achieve remission until the last visit. Normalization of thyroid-stimulating hormone-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII) after treatment was faster in the remission group than in the non-remission group (remission group, $15.5{\pm}12.07$ vs. non-remission group, $41.69{\pm}35.70$ months). Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation tests were performed in 28 patients. Only 2 (8.3%) of 26 patients who showed normal or hyper-response in TRH stimulation test relapsed. Binary logistic regression analysis identified rapid achievement of TBII normalization after treatment as a significant predictor of remission. Six percent of patients achieved remission within 3 years and 55.8% achieved it within 6 years. Conclusion:Rapid achievement of TBII normalization can be a predictor of remission in childhood Graves disease. The TRH stimulation test can be a predictor of maintenance of remission.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.4 s.51
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• pp.911-923
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• 1995

With increased use of neurotoxic agents in manufacturing industries, hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents pose significant problems in protecting health of workers who work in these industries. A normal range of neurobehavioral performance is required to study hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents among workers. However, such reference for Korean population is not available yet. The objective of this study is to estimate a normal range of neurobehavioral test performance of female workers in Korea. Data for neurobehavioral test performance developed by the World Health Organization were obtained from 165 female workers. Study subjects, 140 production workers and 25 clerks, who voluntarily participated in this study were not occupationally exposed to neurotoxic agents. The mean age and the mean education years of them were 32 years and 10.9 years, respectively Santa Ana dexterity, pursuit aiming, digit symbol, simple reaction time, and Benton visual retention tests among the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery(NCTB) were included in the evaluation. Subjects were interviewed by a trained interviewer for their detailed occupational history $Mean({\pm}SD)$ performance of the participants were: $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in the Santa Ana dexterity test of the preferred and non-preferred hands; $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in correct dot of the pursuit aiming test; $57.7{\pm}16.0$ in the digit symbol test; $274.8{\pm}44.6$ msec in the mean simple reaction time and $70.5{\pm}69.0$ msec in the mean standard deviation of it; and $7.8{\pm}1.7$ in the Benton visual retention test. Most neurobehavioral performance scores were correlated significantly with age and educational level. Educational level was found to be a significant independent variable which was associated with all test scores. Age was significantly associated with scores of pursuit aiming and digit symbol tests.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.937-943
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• 2011

In order to develop constructed wetlands for treating hydroponic wastewater in greenhouses, removal efficiencies and decomposition velocities of pollutants in constructed wetland were investigated for treating hydroponic wastewater. Removal rates of BOD, COD, SS, T-N and T-P in effluent in constructed wetlands were 88%, 79%, 92%, 64% and 92%, respectively. The decomposition velocities (K; $day^{-1}$) of pollutants in $1^{st}$ HF bed of constructed wetlands were higher in the order of SS ($0.54day^{-1}$) > BOD ($0.39day^{-1}$) > COD ($0.27day^{-1}$) > T-P ($0.26day^{-1}$) > T-N ($0.06day^{-1}$). In $1^{st}$ HF bed of constructed wetlands, the decomposition velocity of SS was rapid than that for BOD, COD, T-N and T-P in constructed wetland for treating hydroponic wastewater. The decomposition velocity (K; $day^{-1}$) of pollutants in $2^{nd}$ HF bed of constructed wetland were higher in the order of T-P ($0.52day^{-1}$) > BOD ($0.28day^{-1}$) > COD ($0.15day^{-1}$) > T-N ($0.06day^{-1}$) > SS ($0.10day^{-1}$). In $2^{nd}$ HF bed of constructed wetlands, the decomposition velocity of T-P was rapid than that for BOD, COD, SS and T-N in constructed wetland for treating hydroponic wastewater.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.126-137
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• 2011

Although Sumunmulbangdui wetland at the Halla Mountain in Jeju Island, a kind of montane wetlands, has been considered to bear high biodiversity, no study has been reported on the bacterial diversity. In this study, soil and water samples were collected from the wetland in order to isolate novel bacterial species. Bacterial strains belonging to the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were isolated after spreading soil and water samples onto solid agar media. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the strains assigned to the three phyla were compared to those of type strains of the species in the phyla. The strains that showed less than 98.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the validly published species were considered to be novel species candidates. A total of 32 strains were regarded as novel species candidates in the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Diversity of novel species candidates was very low; the candidates were confined to only few genera. In the Bacteroidetes, 13 novel candidate species were affiliated with the genera Mucilaginibacter, Sphingobacterium, Pedobacter, Flavobacterium, and Chryseobacterium. A total of 13 novel candidate species that assigned to the genera Paenibacillus Lysinibacillus, and Bacillus were identified in the phylum Firmicutes. Only two candidate species that belonged to the genera Mycobacterium and Nocardia were excavated in the Actinobacteria. Cultural, physiological, and chemotaxonomic characteristics have been determined for the novel species candidates, and the characteristics are described in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.1717-1724
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• 2016

Probiotic effects of Lactobacillus plantarum pF1 NITE-P1462 (Lp-pF1), L. plantarum KCCM 11352P (Lp-PNU), L. plantarum CBT LP3 KCTC 10782BP (Lp-CB), and L. plantarum KCTC 3099 (Lp-3099) isolated from kimchi and Lactococcus lactis KFCC 11510P (L-lactis) isolated from Doenjang were studied. Resistance to gastric and bile acid, adhesion to intestines in colon cells, thermal stability, and antioxidative and in vitro anticancer effects in HT-29 cancer cells were evaluated. L. plantarum strains showed improved tolerance of gastric and bile acids than L-lactis. Lp-pF1 had better adhesion ability in the intestine than Lp-PNU, Lp-3099, and L-lactis. Lp-pF1 also showed better heat resistance at $50^{\circ}C$, $70^{\circ}C$, and $80^{\circ}C$ than Lp-CB, Lp-3099, and L-lactis. In addition, Lp-pF1 exhibited greater antioxidant activity by scavenging DPPH radicals or hydroxyl radicals and anticancer effects in MTT assay than others. Taken together, these results suggest that L. plantarum isolated from kimchi showed higher probiotic activities with antioxidant and anticancer properties than Lac. lactis isolated from Doenjang. Lp-pF1 revealed the best probiotic activities among L. plantarum and could be used as a promising potential probiotics.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2014

The black scraper Thamnaconus modestus was a commercially important fish species in the 1980s, but suddenly its commercial significance decreased in the 1990s mainly due to continuous overfishing. Recently, in order to reverse the depleted stocks of the black scraper and help the species recover, seed production technology has emerged. This has led to the farming of the black scraper in several parts of the southern coast of Korea. Since detailed research on its metabolism in relation to water temperature has been scanty, this was the investigative focus of the present study. The standard metabolism rates of the black scraper (9-10 months old, total length=$22.6{\pm}0.8cm$, wet weight=$140.3{\pm}13.9g$) were measured at seven different water temperature settings (12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 26, $28^{\circ}C$) to understand the relationship between metabolism and water temperature. Relationships between water temperature (WT) and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were obtained as SOCR (weight-specific oxygen consumption rate) = 0.0117WT - 0.0135 ($r^2=0.9351$) and IOCR (oxygen consumption rate per individual) = 1.8160WT - 5.4007 ($r^2$ = 9428). The $Q_{10}$ (temperature sensitivity), an indicator of the sensitivity of biological function to temperature, was analyzed. In our experiment, when the water temperature increased, the $Q_{10}$ value decreased. The $Q_{10}$ value was 6.27 in waters where the temperature ranged from $12-15^{\circ}C$ and this was much higher than the values obtained in waters where temperatures ranged between (1) $15-23^{\circ}C$ and (2) $23-28^{\circ}C$. Consequently, it was shown that the black scraper is a warm water species and inhabiting waters in the temperature range from $15-28^{\circ}C$ is deemed appropriate.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.1082-1090
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• 2009

Peak expiratory flow rate(PEF) is a very important diagnostic parameter obtained from the forced vital capacity(FVC) test. The expiratory flow rate increases during the short initial time period and may cause measurement error in PEF particularly due to non-ideal dynamic characteristic of the transducer. The present study evaluated the initial rise slope($S_r$) on the flow rate signal to compensate the transducer output data. The 26 standard signals recommended by the American Thoracic Society(ATS) were generated and flown through the velocity-type respiratory air flow transducer with simultaneously acquiring the transducer output signal. Most PEF and the corresponding output($N_{PEF}$) were well fitted into a quadratic equation with a high enough correlation coefficient of 0.9997. But only two(ATS#2 and 26) signals resulted significant deviation of $N_{PEF}$ with relative errors>10%. The relationship between the relative error in $N_{PEF}$ and $S_r$ was found to be linear, based on which $N_{PEF}$ data were compensated. As a result, the 99% confidence interval of PEF error was turned out to be approximately 2.5%, which was less than a quarter of the upper limit of 10% recommended by ATS. Therefore, the present compensation technique was proved to be very accurate, complying the international standards of ATS, which would be useful to calibrate respiratory air flow transducers.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 2014

This study was conducted to develop a salad dressing using jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Miller) puree and to evaluate the processing and quality characteristics of the salad dressing containing various amounts (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%) of jujube puree. Jujube puree was prepared by crushing peeled, deseeded and steamed fruit flesh. The dressing ingredients (jujube flesh puree, soy sauce, vinegar, oligosaccharide, olive oil, and water) were mixed, homogenized, and packaged in glass bottles. The quality characteristics (color property, total titratable acidity, soluble solids, viscosity, phenolic compound content, antioxidant activity, and sensory acceptability) of the dressing were analyzed. The lightness ($L^*$) and redness ($a^*$) of the dressing tended to increase as the amount of the jujube puree increased whereas the hue angle ($h^{\circ}$) decreased. The total titratable acidity, soluble solids, viscosity, phenolic compound content, and antioxidant activity of the dressing increased with the addition of more jujube puree. The sensory acceptability (color, smell, taste, texture, and overall acceptability) were significantly higher in the dressing added with 30% added jujube puree than in the other samples. The results show that jujube flesh puree (approximately 30%) can be utilized as an additive for preparing a dressing with simultaneously high antioxidant activity and acceptability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.1589-1594
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• 2016

Piperine [(E,E)-5-(3,4-methtylenedioxyphenyl)-2,4-pentadienolypiperidide] is a principal of Piperaceae, including Piper nigrum L. and Piper longum Linn., which has been used as a spice and traditional medicine. In this study, we investigated whether or not piperine has anti-cancer effects on AGS human gastric cancer cells. The results demonstrated that piperine not only inhibited proliferation using MTT assay but also induced apoptotic bodies using DAPI assay in a dose-dependent manner in response to piperine. Expression levels of p53, Bax (pro-apoptotic), cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved-PARP increased, whereas expression levels of Bcl-2, XIAP (anti-apoptotic), and Akt decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared with the control by western blotting analysis. To identify the connection between phospo-Akt and Bcl-2 family in response to piperine, LY249002 (Akt inhibitor) was treated with piperine ($150{\mu}M$). The results were shown that expression of phospo-Akt was reduced whereas expression of Bax and cleaved-PARP increased in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that piperine induced apoptosis in AGS cells and may serve as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent for human gastric cancer.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.425-433
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• 2011

In order to obtain optimum pre-treatment methods and improve T-N and T-P removal efficiencies, removal rates of pollutants in small-scale livestock wastewater treatment apparatus with water plant filtration bed or activated sludge tank were investigated. Based on the results from the optimum pre-treatment in small-scale livestock wastewater treatment apparatus, removal efficiencies of pollutants in livestock wastewater treatment plant with water plant filtration and activated sludge beds. The removal rates of COD, SS, T-N, and T-P in effluent were 83, 89, 63 and 87% in small-scale livestock wastewater treatment apparatus with water plant filtration bed, respectively. The removal rates of COD, SS, T-N, and T-P in effluent were 96, 95, 86 and 92% in small-scale livestock wastewater treatment apparatus with activated sludge tank, respectively. For increasing the COD, SS, T-N, and T-P removals in small-scale livestock wastewater treatment apparatus, the water plant filtration and activated sludge beds are recommended. In livestock wastewater treatment plant with water plant filtration ($1^{st}$ treatment) and activated sludge ($2^{nd}$ treatment) beds, the concentrations of COD, SS, T-N, and T-P in effluent were 39, 15, 42 and $1mg\;L^{-1}$, respectively. It was shown that the concentrations of COD, SS, T-N, and T-P met acceptable effluent quality standard for livestock wastewater. Based on the above results, the removal rates of COD, SS, T-N, and T-P in effluent were over 99.8, 99.9, 99.2, and 99.9% in livestock wastewater treatment plant, respectively.