• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.5.1-5.11
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to present the results and analyses of clinical trials, including updates on the different functions of root canal sealers. Materials and Methods: In June 2023, we performed a comprehensive search of ClinicalTrials.gov to identify interventional clinical trials pertaining to root canal sealers. In total, 23 clinical trials conducted up to June 2023 were included in this study. Results: Approximately half of the trials (11 out of 23) were completed, while none were terminated or withdrawn. Each included trial had a minimum of 10 participants, with 11 trials having more than 100 participants. None of the assessed trials provided outcomes, and the majority (17 out of 23) lacked associated publications. In terms of geographic distribution, the USA and Canada did not contribute to any root canal sealer trials. Conclusions: This study highlights the lack of diversity in trial locations, the absence of reported results, and a scarcity of clinical trials examining the physicochemical properties of different sealers. Most published trials primarily focused on assessing the post-operative pain effect of these sealers, but no significant difference was found regarding post-operative pain control.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.707-714
• /
• 2024

Different degrees of natural radioactivity found in quartz can have negative consequences on health. Quartz vein along the investigated Abu Ramad area, Egypt, had its natural radioactivity assessed. The HPGe spectrometer was used to determine the role played by the radionuclides ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in the gamma radiation that was emitted, and the results showed that these concentrations are 484.64 ± 288.4, 36.8 ± 13.1 and 772.2 ± 134.6 Bq kg^-1 were higher than the corresponding reported global limits of 33, 45, and 412 Bq kg^-1 for each radionuclide (²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K). Among the radiological hazard parameters, the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) is estimated and it's mean value of ELCR (1.2) is higher than the permissible limit of 0.00029. The relationship between the radionuclides and the associated radiological hazard characteristics was investigated based on multivariate statistical methods including Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). According to statistical research, the radioactive risk of quartz is primarily caused by the ²³⁸U, ²³²Thand ⁴⁰K. Finally, applying quartz to building materials would pose a significant risk to the public.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.304-314
• /
• 2023

Background and Objectives: Ear cartilage malformations are commonly encountered problems in reconstructive surgery, since cartilage has low self-regenerating capacity. Malformations that impose psychological and social burden on one's life are currently treated using ear prosthesis, synthetic implants or autologous flaps from rib cartilage. These approaches are challenging because not only they request high surgical expertise, but also they lack flexibility and induce severe donor-site morbidity. Through the last decade, tissue engineering gained attention where it aims at regenerating human tissues or organs in order to restore normal functions. This technique consists of three main elements, cells, growth factors, and above all, a scaffold that supports cells and guides their behavior. Several studies have investigated different scaffolds prepared from both synthetic or natural materials and their effects on cellular differentiation and behavior. Methods and Results: In this study, we investigated a natural scaffold (alginate) as tridimensional hydrogel seeded with progenitors from different origins such as bone marrow, perichondrium and dental pulp. In contact with the scaffold, these cells remained viable and were able to differentiate into chondrocytes when cultured in vitro. Quantitative and qualitative results show the presence of different chondrogenic markers as well as elastic ones for the purpose of ear cartilage, upon different culture conditions. Conclusions: We confirmed that auricular perichondrial cells outperform other cells to produce chondrogenic tissue in normal oxygen levels and we report for the first time the effect of hypoxia on these cells. Our results provide updates for cartilage engineering for future clinical applications.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2024

This study examines the perceptual motivation behind dissimilation. Consistent with previous arguments suggesting that dissimilation originates from perception rather than production (Coetzee, 2005; Kiparsky, 2003; Scheer, 2013), we hypothesized that an oral stop with short of voice onset time (VOT) would be recognized as non-aspirated more often when it is followed by an aspirated stop with a long VOT. This hypothesis was tested through a perception experiment in which 32 Korean listeners made judgments on the first consonant of C₁VC₂V words manipulated with C₁ VOT and C₂ types. The results revealed that aspirated-based C₁ was recognized as aspirated or tense depending on the duration of VOT, while lenis-based C₁ was consistently recognized as lenis. The dissimilatory effect of aspirated C₂ was confirmed as anticipated, and furthermore, tense C₂ increased the ratio of tense responses more than aspirated C₂. These results provide evidence of a perceptual bias against recurrent aspirated stops, which may play a role in activating a dissimilatory rule or constraint in a language. The assimilatory effect of tense C₂ is in consistent with findings indicating that word-initial tensification is facilitated by the following tense stop in Korean (Kang & Oh, 2016; H. Kim, 2016).

• Journal of Korea Society of Digital Industry and Information Management
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.59-74
• /
• 2024

In order to improve safety consciousness due to the increase in disasters and safety accidents, safety education is necessary to prepare for disasters with interest in safety. This study is a board game design for disaster safety education for elementary school students based on Keller's learning motivation theory. By considering the school safety curriculum and the safety education contents of the School Safety Mutual Aid Association and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the content and goals of learning were derived and the order of learning was determined. When designing game content, the fun elements of the game were applied to Keller's learning motivation inducing factors such as attention concentration (A), relevance (R), confidence (C), satisfaction (S), and educational game design elements to induce the achievement of learning goals at the game planning stage. It is expected that the existing safety education focusing on lecture-style and audiovisual will be supplemented and used in the educational field.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.66 no.1
• /
• pp.167-177
• /
• 2024

Iris segmentation is an initial step for identifying the biometrics of animals when establishing a traceability system for livestock. In this study, we propose a deep learning framework for pixel-wise segmentation of bovine iris with a minimized use of annotation labels utilizing the BovineAAEyes80 public dataset. The proposed image segmentation framework encompasses data collection, data preparation, data augmentation selection, training of 15 deep neural network (DNN) models with varying encoder backbones and segmentation decoder DNNs, and evaluation of the models using multiple metrics and graphical segmentation results. This framework aims to provide comprehensive and in-depth information on each model's training and testing outcomes to optimize bovine iris segmentation performance. In the experiment, U-Net with a VGG16 backbone was identified as the optimal combination of encoder and decoder models for the dataset, achieving an accuracy and dice coefficient score of 99.50% and 98.35%, respectively. Notably, the selected model accurately segmented even corrupted images without proper annotation data. This study contributes to the advancement of iris segmentation and the establishment of a reliable DNN training framework.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.503-513
• /
• 2008

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a sensory organ that influences social and/or reproductive behavior and, in many cases, the survival of an organism. The VNO is believed to mediate responses to pheromones; however, many mechanisms of signal transduction in the VNO remain elusive. Here, we examined the expression of proteins involved in signal transduction that are found in the main olfactory system in the VNO. The localization of many signaling molecules in the VNO is quite different from those in the main olfactory system, suggesting differences in signal transduction mechanisms between these two chemosensory organs. Various signaling molecules are expressed in distinct areas of VNO sensory epithelium. Interestingly, we found the expressions of groups of these signaling molecules in glandular tissues adjacent to VNO, supporting the physiological significance of these glandular tissues. Our finding of high expression of signaling proteins in glandular tissues suggests that neurohumoral factors influence glandular tissues to modulate signaling cascades that in turn alter the responses of the VNO to hormonal status.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.177-180
• /
• 2020

Background: The aim of this study was to examine whether the effects of acupotomy therapy were beneficial for the treatment of protrusion of lumbar intervertebral disc. Methods: The number of patients (n = 80) were equally assigned into treatment group and control group. Treatment group was given acupotomy therapy twice a week, and control group was given acupuncture 3 times a week, for 4 weeks. The beneficial effect and changes in score of the Japan Orthopedic Association (JOA) for low back pain were observed. Results: Among 40 cases in the treatment group, there were 25 (62.5%) with an excellent effect, 13 (32.5%) with good effect, 1 (2.5%) with a medium effect and 1 (2.5%) with poor effect, with the total experiencing an excellent/good effect of 95.0%. Among 40 cases in the control group, there were 11 (27.5%) with an excellent effect, 17 (42.5%) with good effect, 10 (25.0%) with a medium effect, and 2 (5.0%) with poor effect, with an excellent/good rate of 70.0%. The result of the rank sum test showed Z = -4.923, p < 0.05 in the comparison, indicating a significantly better outcome following acupotomy compared with acupuncture. JOA scores increased in both groups after treatment (p < 0.05), which was more significant in the acupotomy treatment group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Acupotomy therapy has a beneficial effect on protrusion of lumbar intervertebral disc.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.277-287
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness towards academic misconduct in nursing students. A descriptive survey was performed from November to December in 2015 with self-reporting questionnaires for awareness toward academic misconduct. Participants were 355 nursing students who was in attendance at department of nursing in three university. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. As a result of the study, nursing students' average point of awareness towards academic misconduct is about 1.71 out of 4. The study showed that irresponsibility on the class was the lowest level, on the other hand, disrespectful behavior in patient care was the highest among awareness towards academic misconduct. This has significant differences according to the their interpersonal relationship and motivation of admission. This study may provide basic data for enhancement of nursing students' recognition of academic improvement in academic integrity. Further studies should be needed to assess academic integrity policies, violations, and the results of the measures in nursing students.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.341-349
• /
• 2018

This study was done to identify the significant convergence factors of affecting depression of elderly women in rural area. A total of 161 elderly women aged 65 and over were collected and data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression with SPSS/WIN 21.0. The result indicated that 42.9% of participants were depressed. In logistic regression, significant factors of depression were age(p<.001, OR=1.146), economic status (p=.004, OR=.123), number of family member living together (p=.013, OR=.020), number of social activities (p=.012, OR=.436), number of disease diagnosed (p<.001, OR=3.847), visual function (p=.023, OR=3.867), family support (p=.048, OR=.707), which accounted for 68.6% of the variance. The results of this study can contribute to develop various convergence strategies to prevent the prevalence of depression of elderly women in rural area. Further studies are needed to confirm the level of contribution of visual disability to depression in rural older women.