• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.187-191
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• 2003

Purpose: MEPs elicited by transmagnetic stimulations of the motor cortex are facilitated by voluntary muscle contraction. We evaluated the effects of the imagination of the movements on latencies of MEPs and reciprocal inhibition by using transmagnetic stimulations. Methods: Twenty two healthy volunteers(eight men and fourteen women) were studied. TMSs were delivered at rest and during imagining abducting or adducting right thumb. A stimulator with a round coil and a fixed intensity of 80% of maximum was used to evoke MEPs. MEPs were evoked by magnetic stimulations over the scalp and cervical spine(C7-T1), and central motor conduction times(CMCT) were calculated by subtracting the latency of compound muscle action potentials(CMAPs) obtained by stimulating over the cervical spine from that obtained by stimulating over the scalp. The motor evoked potentials were recorded from right abductor pollicis brevis muscle(APB) and adductor pollicis muscle(AP) simultaneously. Results: Imagination of abduction resulted in a shortened latency of the CMAPs in APB, and a prolonged latency in AP. Imagination of adduction resulted in a shortened latency in AP, and a prolonged latency in APB. But the imagination caused no significant change in the latency of CMAPs elicited by stimulation over cervical spine. Therefore, the changes of the CMCTs account for these latency changes with imagination of movement. With the imagination of abduction, there are significant reduction of the CMCT's in APB(10.8%) and prolongation in AP(5.8%). On the other hand, with the imagination of adduction, prolongation of the CMCT's in APB(7.3%) and reduction in AP(5.9%) were observed. Conclusion: These findings indicate that imagination of muscle contraction increases the excitability of the human corticospinal system. Reciprocal inhibition may be accountable for the prolonged latency in the antagonist muscle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.2162-2172
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• 2020

Due to its computational efficiency and geometrical flexibility, the Method of Characteristics (MOC) has been widely used for light water reactor lattice physics analysis. Usually acceleration methods are necessary for MOC to achieve acceptable convergence on practical reactor physics problems. Among them, Coarse Mesh Finite Difference (CMFD) is very popular and can drastically reduce the number of transport iterations. In OpenMOC, CMFD acceleration was implemented but had the limitation of supporting only a uniform CMFD mesh, which would often lead to splitting MOC source regions, thus creating an unnecessary increase in computation and memory use. In this study, CMFD acceleration with a non-uniform Cartesian mesh is implemented into OpenMOC. We also propose a quadratic fit based CMFD prolongation method in the axial direction to further improve the acceleration when multiple MOC source regions are contained in one CMFD coarse mesh. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the improvement of the CMFD acceleration capability in OpenMOC in terms of both efficiency and stability.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.61-69
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• 2018

Research on additional indirect cost due to construction period extension in general contracts has continuously been active whereas the same for the subcontract operations has not been. In this research, we review previous research on evaluation methods for additional indirect costs which are widely being used on construction sites as well as previously proposed methods altogether, applying them to analyze model-cases for comparison. We acknowledge that this pattern for construction cost fluctuation over the construction period demonstrates an S-curve. This S-curve shaped indirect cost occurrence is then used to generate model-cases that are used throughout the research which models we applied previous evaluation methods on. Finally in pursuit of finding out some problems of evaluation methods, we came to derive a conclusion that the "Average Actual Cost Evaluation Method on Extended Duration," which, in turn, were proved to be valid for application on general contracts, was also valid for general application on subcontractor operations.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.365-370
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• 1999

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of precooling in the prolongation of freshness of Tsugaru apple. Tsugaru apple was precooled to 1$^{\circ}C$ by the pressure cooler and stored at 1$^{\circ}C$ and 25$^{\circ}C$. Precooling time was required about 5 to 6 hours for Tsugaru apple that filled in the plastic container and faster than that in the carton. The respiration rate was decreased with the reduction of the product temperature by precooling. Tsugaru apple could store about 9 days and 35 days at room temperature and 1$^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2007

A LED (light emitting diode) was attached inside the cold $(4^{\circ}C)$ compartment of a home refrigerator to investigate a possible effect on freshness prolongation of cabbage over 10 d of storage. The LED increased chlorophyll synthesis, inhibited vitamin C degradation and increased the content of phenolics, compared to values measured in cabbages stored in an identical refrigerator without the LED. In the refrigerator with the LED, the color of cabbage leaves remained green for a period fourfold longer than that seen in a conventional refrigerator. Vitamin C content was twice that of a conventionally stored cabbage, and phenolic consent was 14% higher in the LED-illuminated vegetables.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.256-263
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• 2019

Background: Antinociceptive anti-inflammatory drugs have many adverse effects. The goal of this investigation is to study the probable anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of verapamil and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in experimental rats. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups in the antinociceptive study, each containing 6 rats; the normal control group, which received saline (1 mL/kg); the diclofenac group, which received diclofenac sodium (5 mg/kg); the NAC group, which received NAC (125 mg/kg); and the verapamil group, which received verapamil (8 mg/kg). In the anti-inflammatory study, 5 groups were used, the 4 previous groups with the addition of an edema control group, received saline and were subjected to formalin test. Hot plate latency time was recorded for antinociceptive evaluation. Paw edema thickness and biochemical parameters were recorded for anti-inflammatory evaluation. Results: Administration of NAC showed significant prolongation of hot plate latency time at 1 hour when compared to the control group while verapamil showed a significant prolongation of hot plate latency time at 1 and 2 hours when compared to the control group and NAC group values. Administration of NAC and verapamil significantly decreased paw edema thickness at 2, 4, and 8 hours when compared to edema control values. Regarding biochemical markers, NAC and verapamil significantly decreased serum nitric oxide synthase, C-reactive protein, and cyclooxygenase-2 levels compared to the edema control value. In accordance, a marked improvement of histopathological findings was observed with both drugs. Conclusions: NAC and verapamil have antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects comparable to diclofenac sodium.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.242-253
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• 2023

Background: Arrhythmia due to QT prolongation is one of the most serious adverse events with drug interactions in the elderly. This study aimed to examine the incidence of arrhythmia in Korean elderly patients who administered both cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates and inhibitors. Methods: Patients using CYP3A4 substrate and inhibitor were selected from the 2017 elderly patient dataset (the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service - Aged Population Sample). Selection criteria were patients with a medication possession ratio over 80%, medication duration of at least 7 days, and a follow-up period of 3 months or more. The patient's basic information is age, gender, health insurance type, and comorbidities. The top 50 drug pairs and comorbidity with high-incidence arrhythmia were presented. Results: In patients with drug combinations for over 7 days, there were 981 incidences of arrhythmia, and 351 incidences in those with combinations for over 30 days. The comorbidities of congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction had a significant association with incidence of arrhythmia. Among patients with 7 days or longer, the drug pairs [substrates-inhibitors] with significant adjusted odds ratio (aOR) were [propranolol-cimetidine] (aOR, 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66-3.04). Among patients with 30 days or longer, the drug pairs with significant aOR were [tramadol-amiodarone] (aOR, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.97-4.19). Conclusions: In elderly patients, the incidence of arrhythmia was high with drug interactions of CYP3A4 substrates and inhibitors. The comorbidity of congestive heart failure was the risk factor.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.240-243
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• 1988

The hexane extract from Nutmeg, the seed of Myristica fragrans significantly inhibited hepatic drug-metabolizing enzyme activity. Through systematic fractionation by $SiO_2$ column and vacuum liquid chromatography monitoring by bioassay, three components, myristicin, (I), licarin-B (II) and dehydrodiisoeugenol (III) were isolated as active principles. Compounds II and III, with a single treatment (200mg/kg, i.p.) showed not only a significant prolongation of hexobarbital-induced sleeping time but also a significant inhibition of aminopyrine N-demethylase and hexobarbital hydroxylase activities in mice. Compounds I and II provoked a sleep episode at a subhypnotic dose of HB, suggesting that they possess CNS-depressant properties.

• KIEE International Transactions on Electrophysics and Applications
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• v.4C no.4
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• pp.142-144
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• 2004

To use Poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the electrokinetic flow channel, the PDMS surface must be modified to be hydrophilic. With $O_2$ plasma treatment, it is difficult to maintain hydrophilicity for more than one day. In this paper, we present the chemical modification of the PDMS surface using 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to prolong hydrophilicity lifetime. The oxide radicals generated temporarily on the PDMS surface by $O_2$ plasma are grafted with HEMA. Once the PDMS samples have been grafted, they demonstrate improved hydrophilicity retainment and electroosmotic flow characteristics compared to the untreated PDMS and the oxidized PDMS following the $O_2$ plasma process. This phenomenon was verified by the contact angles, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and electro osmotic flow rates observed for more than 300 hours.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 1984

The effect of twenty two spices on liver microsomal monooxygense activity was tested as measured by alteration of hexobarbital (HB) narcosis and strychnine mortality in mice. Oral administration of seven spices for 7 consecutive days caused a significant shortening of the duration of HB-induced sleeping time. The treatment of mice with a single i. p. injection of 9 spices resulted in a significant prolongation of the sleeping time. White pepper, dill and fennel reduced the toxicity of strychnine. These results strongly indicated that some spices might affect the activity of liver microsomal drug metabolizing enzyme (DME) function.