• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.160-167
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• 2024

The amphibians serve as environmental indicator species warning of threats from pollution and development, and information regarding their body condition and surrounding habitat can be utilized as crucial indicators for assessing ecosystem health. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in body condition and the climate environments according to the season and sex of Class II endangered Kaloula borealis. A total of 53 surveys were conducted from June to October 2018, targeting frogs inhabiting the Godeok-dong area of Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Using the weight and length of each individual, the body condition index (SMI, Scaled mass index) was calculated. Results showed a total capture of 396 individuals, consisting of 235 males and 161 females. Females exhibited longer SVL and greater weight compared to males, with higher body condition indices. Monthly body condition indices were lower for males in June, while no differences were observed between males and females from July to September. Among the climate environments where females and males appeared, environmental variables related to precipitation and humidity showed differences. These research findings are deemed crucial for providing fundamental information to ascertain suitable habitats for Kaloula borealis and selecting alternative habitats due to developmental impacts in the future.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.522-535
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• 2024

Objective: Transition period is considered from 3 weeks prepartum to 3 weeks postpartum, characterized with dramatic events (endocrine, metabolic, and physiological) leading to occurrence of production diseases (negative energy balance/ketosis, milk fever etc). The objectives of our study were to analyze the periodic concentration of serum beta-hydroxy butyric acid (BHBA), glucose and oxidative markers along with identification, and validation of the putative markers of negative energy balance in buffaloes using in-silico and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. Methods: Out of 20 potential markers of ketosis identified by in-silico analysis, two were selected and analyzed by qRT-PCR technique (upregulated; acetyl serotonin o-methyl transferase like and down regulated; guanylate cyclase activator 1B). Additional two sets of genes (carnitine palmotyl transferase A; upregulated and Insulin growth factor; downregulated) that have a role of hepatic fatty acid oxidation to maintain energy demands via gluconeogenesis were also validated. Extracted cDNA (complementary deoxyribonucleic acid) from the blood of the buffaloes were used for validation of selected genes via qRTPCR. Concentrations of BHBA, glucose and oxidative stress markers were identified with their respective optimized protocols. Results: The analysis of qRT-PCR gave similar trends as shown by in-silico analysis throughout the transition period. Significant changes (p<0.05) in the levels of BHBA, glucose and oxidative stress markers throughout this period were observed. This study provides validation from in-silico and qRT-PCR assays for potential markers to be used for earliest diagnosis of negative energy balance in buffaloes. Conclusion: Apart from conventional diagnostic methods, this study improves the understanding of putative biomarkers at the molecular level which helps to unfold their role in normal immune function, fat synthesis/metabolism and oxidative stress pathways. Therefore, provides an opportunity to discover more accurate and sensitive diagnostic aids.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1163-1171
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• 2021

Objective: To analyze the correlations between intraoperative ultrasound and MRI metrics of the spinal cord in degenerative cervical myelopathy and identify novel potential predictive ultrasonic indicators of neurological recovery for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients who underwent French-door laminoplasty for multilevel degenerative cervical myelopathy were followed up for 12 months. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores were assessed preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively. Maximum spinal cord compression and compression rates were measured and calculated using both intraoperative ultrasound imaging and preoperative T2-weight (T2W) MRI. Signal change rates of the spinal cord on preoperative T2W MRI and gray value ratios of dorsal and ventral spinal cord hyperechogenicity on intraoperative ultrasound imaging were measured and calculated. Correlations between intraoperative ultrasound metrics, MRI metrics, and the recovery rate JOA scores were analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis. Results: The postoperative JOA scores improved significantly, with a mean recovery rate of 65.0 ± 20.3% (p < 0.001). No significant correlations were found between the operative ultrasound metrics and MRI metrics. The gray value ratios of the spinal cord hyperechogenicity was negatively correlated with the recovery rate of JOA scores (ρ = -0.638, p = 0.001), while the ventral and dorsal gray value ratios of spinal cord hyperechogenicity were negatively correlated with the recovery rate of JOA-motor scores (ρ = -0.582, p = 0.004) and JOA-sensory scores (ρ = -0.452, p = 0.035), respectively. The dorsal gray value ratio was significantly higher than the ventral gray value ratio (p < 0.001), while the recovery rate of JOA-motor scores was better than that of JOA-sensory scores at 12 months post-surgery (p = 0.028). Conclusion: For degenerative cervical myelopathy, the correlations between intraoperative ultrasound and preoperative T2W MRI metrics were not significant. Gray value ratios of the spinal cord hyperechogenicity and dorsal and ventral spinal cord hyperechogenicity were significantly correlated with neurological recovery at 12 months postoperatively.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.136-144
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• 2017

Objectives : Cognitive complaints are reported frequently after breast cancer treatments. The causes of cognitive decline are multifactorial, a result of the effect of cancer itself, chemotherapy, and psychological factors such as depression and anxiety. However, cognitive decline does not always correlate with neuropsychological test performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of subjective cognitive decline with objective measurement and to explore associated factors of cognitive function in breast cancer survivors. Methods : We included 29 breast cancer survivors who complain cognitive decline at least 6 months after treatment and 20 age-matched healthy controls. Neuropsychological tests were performed in all participants. Multivariable regression analysis evaluated associations between neuropsychological test scores and psychological distress including depression and anxiety, also considering age, education, and comorbidity. Results : There were no statistically significant differences in neuropsychological test performances. However, the breast cancer survivors showed a significantly higher depression(p=0.002) and anxiety(p<0.001) than the healthy controls did. Among the cancer survivors, poorer executive function was strongly associated with higher depression(${\beta}=-0.336$, p=0.001) and anxiety(${\beta}=-0.273$, p=0.009), after controlling for age, education, and comorbidity. In addition, poorer attention was also significantly related with depression(${\beta}=-0.375$, p=0.023) and anxiety (${\beta}=-0.404$, p=0.013). Conclusions : The results of this study showed the discrepancies between subjective complaints and objective measures of cognitive function in breast cancer survivors. It suggests that subjective cognitive decline could be indicators of psychological distress such as depression and anxiety.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.146-160
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• 2014

Objective: This study was performed to explore the effectiveness of community organization as a strategy for health promotion. Methods: We used data from community health interviews from 6 administrative sections (eup, myeon, or dong) with high mortality from August to October, conducted once in both 2010 and 2013 as part of the Health Plus Happiness Plus Projects based on the concept of community empowerment in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. For 2010, the study subjects comprised a systematic sampling of 220 adults from each of the six sections for a total of 1320 subjects, and for 2013, 200 from each section for a total of 1200 subjects. We compared main health behavior indicators and empowerment score between these two years. Results: Smoking prevalence in men was 47.4% in 2013, and 47.7% in 2010, respectively. Prevalence of walking 5 days or more per week was 35.6% in 2013, significantly lower than 46.2% in 2010. Also, during that period, both biennial health examination rate and biennial gastric cancer screening rate among those 40 years of age and over significantly increased from 57.7% to 63.6% and from 49.3% to 55.0%, respectively. Mean empowerment score at the community level significantly increased from 12.6 to 14.0. Conclusions: This study suggests that the three-year implementation of community organization might have helped to increase the participation rate of biennial health examinations including cancer screenings in the community. However, this was not the case for smoking cessation and walking. Further studies are needed for evidence-based health promotion.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.32 no.4 s.93
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• pp.265-274
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• 2002

Among many maturation indicators of growing patients, menarche and skeletal maturity are useful to assess growth and development, and the changes of the first and third finger are relatively important in hand-wrist X-rays. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between menarche and the changes of the phalanx of the first and third finger and compare skeletal maturation among different malocclusion types. The sample used in this study was 29 Class 1,27 Class II and 27 Class III females whose hand-wrist X-rays had been taken with 6 month interval before the appearance of ulnar sesamoid ossification till the phalanges of the fingers were almost fused. The results were as follows. 1. There was no skeletal maturity difference among malocclusion types. 2. There was no difference in the mean chronologic age of menarche among different malocclusion types and that was $12.30\pm0.98$ years. 3. The ulnar sesamoid was observed at $10.35\pm1.01$ years, and on distal phalanx of the first finger, epiphyseal capping appeared at $11.26\pm1.04$ years and fusion at $13.12\pm1.06$ years. The epiphyseal capping on middle phalanx of the third finger was observed at $11.57\pm1.02$ years and fusion at $13.72\pm1.04$ years. 4. The timing of menarche occurred around the same time as the fusion process of distal phalanx of the first finger(p<0.001, r=0.82) and the initiation of fusion of middle phalanx of the third finger(p<0.001, r=0.78). Therefore, we can give the aid when we evaluate the growth and development of growing females seeing the changes at phalanx of the first and third finger.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.57-72
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• 2018

Time series analysis of tower flux measurement can be used to build quantitative evidence for the achievement of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). In this study, we have assessed the first objective of CSA (regarding ecosystem productivity and efficiency) for rice paddy-dominated heterogeneous farmland. A set of quantitative indicators were evaluated by analysing the time series data of carbon, water and energy fluxes over the Haenam farmland site in Korea (HFK) during the rice growing seasons from 2003 to 2015. Four different varieties of rice were cultivated during the study period in chronological order of Dongjin No. 1 (2003-2008), Nampyung (2009), Onnuri (2010-2011), and Saenuri (2012-2015). Overall at HFK, gross primary productivity (GPP) ranged from 800 to $944g\;C\;m^{-2}$, water use efficiency (WUE) ranged from 1.91 to $2.80g\;C\;kg\;H_2O^{-1}$, carbon uptake efficiency (CUE) ranged from 1.06 to 1.34, and light use efficiency (LUE) ranged from 0.99 to $1.55g\;C\;MJ^{-1}$. Among the four rice varieties, Dongjin No. 1-dominated HFK showed the highest productivity with higher WUE and LUE, but comparable CUE. Considering the heterogeneous vegetation cover at HFK, a rule of thumb comparison suggested that the productivity of Dongjin No1-dominated HFK was comparable to those of monoculture rice paddies in Asia, whereas HFK was more efficient in water use and less efficient in carbon uptake. Saenuri-dominated HFK also produced high productivity but with the growing season length longer than Dongjin No.1. Although the latter showed better traits for CSA, farmers cultivate Saenuri because of higher pest resistance (associated with adaptability and resilience). This emphasizes the need for the evaluation of other two objectives of CSA (i.e. system resilience and greenhouse gas mitigation) for complete assessment at HFK, which is currently in progress.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.74-86
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to deduce the landscape evaluation indices that can be applied from the preparation for the registration of major national farm/fishery heritages to post-management. For this purpose, the Delphi survey was performed on experts. From August to November in 2014, the primary open survey, secondary open survey, and tertiary closed survey were performed to gather opinions from 28 experts, 25 experts, and 29 experts, respectively. As a result, the landscape evaluation indices for farm/fishery heritage consisted of five areas of evaluation, ten items of evaluation, and 40 indices of evaluation. The areas of evaluation were rurality, authenticity, aesthetics, tourism potentials, and locality. Rurality was classified into rurality of farm/fishery towns and nostalgia. Authenticity was classified into objective authenticity and existential authenticity. Aesthetics was classified into attractiveness and harmony. Tourism potentials were classified into value of resources and value of usability. Locality was divided into physical originality and cultural identity. The study made the following findings: first, the general grounds of farm/fishery landscape evaluation cannot be applied when evaluating the quality of landscapes of farm/fishery heritage, as their value as a cultural heritage should be considered. Second, the new indices valued emotional factors in addition to the physical factors considered by the existing farm/fishery landscapes. The new indices involved a more expanded concept of landscapes as it also considers everyday or temporary activities, including the farm/fishery activities of local people or participation in festivals and experience programs. Third, farm/fishery heritage focuses on the lives of local people, as it involves both the synchronic and the diachronic perspectives to see what is currently visible and what is no longer visible. This brings into consideration not only the farms and the natural environments but also their relationships with the villages, especially the residential areas. Finally, the indices reflected both the farm/fishery heritage's value as cultural heritage and its value for tourism. They derived temporary and dynamic landscapes, including the trading activities of local specialty markets in relation to the production landscapes. However, further studies should be conducted as this study could not rate the relative importance of indices or compare the total scores of landscapes without the weight of each item.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 2004

Processed meals, such as a ground meat and hamburger patty, are required to ensure that no pathogens remain in the final products. However, there was no rapid method available to verify that the recommended end-point cooking temperature(EPT) was reached. Thus, the objective of this study was to rapidly determine EPT of ground pork hams using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SOS-PAGE), based on the disappearance of sarcoplasmic proteins after cooking. Fresh pork hams were added two levels of salt(0, 2%) and fat(15, 25%) combinations, and stored in refrigerator overnight, and cooked to internal cooking temperatures of $64^{\circ}C$ to $74^{\circ}C$ with $2^{\circ}C$ increments. Cooked pork hams were measured cooking loss(CL, %), protein solubility(PS) and SOS-PAGE. CL(%) was reduced with the addition of 2% salt, as compared to the control, regardless of fat contents. It was also increased with increasing eooking temperature. Protein solubility was affected by the cooking temperature, resulting in reduced PS up to $64^{\circ}C$(P < 0.05), but remained constant higher than $68^{\circ}C$. In SOS-PAGE analysis, protein bands with the molecular weights of 36 and 66 kDa were affected by the addition of salt and fat combinations. regardless of treatments. These protein fractions were decreased gradually with increased cooking temperatures up to $68^{\circ}C$ ${\sim}$ $70^{\circ}C$ and might be good indicators for the determination of EPT in ground pork hams.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.293-302
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• 1994

The objective of this study was to establish a good methodology to isolate single smooth muscle cells that are alive and respond properly to pharmacological agents. Canine urinary bladders were employed as the source of single cells, and acetylcholine, atropine and imipramine were used as indicators of pharmacological responsiveness. Imipramine, an antidepressant drug exhibited the anticholinergic and calcium antagonizing properties on rat detrusor muscle. To establish a control value for a further experiment to elucidate the mechanism of action of imipramine on detrusor muscle, we measured the concentration-response of single cells to acetylcholine in the presesnce of imipramine by length of the cells and compared the result with the response in the presence of atropine. Tiny chops of smooth muscle taken from anesthetized canine urinary bladder were incubated in collagenase solution at $36^{\circ}C$ for 17-20 minutes. The collagenase solution included collagenase 1.2 mg/ml, soybean tryspin inhibitor 0.08 mg/ml, bovine serum albumin 2% in 10 ml Krebs-Henseleit buffer solution aerated with a consistent breeze of 95/5% $O_2/CO_2$, to maintain the pH at 7.4. After washing with plain K-H solution on 450 mesh, cells were dissociated from the digested tissue for 12-15 minutes. Cell suspension was transfered in 5 ml test tubes and acetylcholine was added for the final concentration to be $10^{-14}M{\sim}10^{-9}M$. To find the optimal time to fix the cells to determine the contractile responses, 1% acrolein was added 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 and 120 seconds after the administration of ACh. The length of cells fixed by acrolein were measured by microscaler via CCTV camera on phaes-contrast microscope. The average length of 50 cells from a slide glass was taken as the value of a sample at the very concentration point. Single cells were isolated from canine detrusor. The length of untreated cells varied from 82 ${\mu}m$ to 94 ${\mu}m$. The maximal response to actylcholine $10^{-9}M$ was accomplished within 5 seconds of exposure, and the shortening was $19{\pm}3$%. Atropine reduced the contraction of the cells concentration-dependently. Imipramine which exerts a cholinergic blocking action on some smooth muscles also reduced the contraction concentration-dependently and by a similar pattern as atropine. These findings document that imipramine may exerts a cholinergic blocking activity in the single smooth muscle cells isolated from canine urinary bladder.