• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of clinical art therapy programs utilized at schools on adolescents' suicidal thoughts and stress relief and to validate their effectiveness as a type of adolescent suicide prevention program. Methods: 12 sessions of clinical art therapy for youth suicide prevention were provided, once a week for 90 minutes, for 20 students at five middle schools in Seoul who were at high risk of committing suicide. By using the paired sample t-test, the study presented qualitative data on the analysis of pre- and post- questionnaires and on the subjects' EEG test and saliva test. Results: First, through the clinical art therapy program, the subjects' happiness index improved significantly while their scores of depression and suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts) decreased. Second, in the EEG and saliva test conducted after the art therapy sessions, emotional stability increased and stress was reduced significantly. Third, according to the results of pre- and post- K-HTP tests and individual activities, the subjects started to recognize the seriousness of suicide and show emotional stability and positive changes in overall attitudes, valuing the rights and life of their own 'precious selves' (self respect). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the clinical art therapy program is significantly effective at preventing suicidal ideation by reducing suicidal impulses and depression, by increasing the happiness index, which can serve as a protective factor against suicide, and by increasing emotional stability while reducing stress. Based on the results, there is a need to develop policy measures regarding art therapy programs which can be utilized at schools.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8271-8279
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• 2016

Background: Hepato-carcinogenesis is multifaceted in its molecular aspects. Among the interplaying agents are altered gap junctions, the proteasome/autophagy system, and mitochondria. The present experimental study was designed to outline the roles of these players and to investigate the tumor suppressive effects of curcumin with or without mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: Adult female albino rats were divided into normal controls and animals with HCC induced by diethyl-nitrosamine (DENA) and $CCl_4$. Additional groups treated after HCC induction were: Cur/HCC which received curcumin; MSCs/HCC which received MSCs; and Cur+MSCs/HCC which received both curcumin and MSCs. For all groups there were histopathological examination and assessment of gene expression of connexin43 (Cx43), ubiquitin ligase-E3 (UCP-3), the autophagy marker LC3 and coenzyme-Q10 (Mito.Q10) mRNA by real time, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, along with measurement of LC3II/LC3I ratio for estimation of autophagosome formation in the rat liver tissue. In addition, the serum levels of ALT, AST and alpha fetoprotein (AFP), together with the proinflammatory cytokines $TNF{\alpha}$ and IL-6, were determined in all groups. Results: Histopathological examination of liver tissue from animals which received DENA-$CCl_4$ only revealed the presence of anaplastic carcinoma cells and macro-regenerative nodules. Administration of curcumin, MSCs; each alone or combined into rats after induction of HCC improved the histopathological picture. This was accompanied by significant reduction in ${\alpha}$-fetoprotein together with proinflammatory cytokines and significant decrease of various liver enzymes, in addition to upregulation of Cx43, UCP-3, LC3 and Mito.Q10 mRNA. Conclusions: Improvement of Cx43 expression, nonapoptotic cell death and mitochondrial function can repress tumor growth in HCC. Administration of curcumin and/or MSCs have tumor suppressive effects as they can target these mechanisms. However, further research is still needed to verify their effectiveness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.133-137
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• 2001

The antioxidant activitiesof methanol extracts of twenty one vegetables were tested using the method of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) reactivity and TBARS substance assay in vitro. The methanol extracts of the leaves from three plants such as Aster scaber, Chrysanthemum coronarium, Petasites japonicus were found to be th most effective on DPPH radical scavenging activity. The next effective ones were the leaves of Capsicum annuum, the peels of Ipomoea batatas and Solanum tuberosum, the stems and leaves of Ipomoea batatas, the levels of Solanum melongena, the fruits of Solanum melongena, the green fruits (seed) of Capsicum ammuum in order, and the others did not show a considerable activity. When tested on lipid peroxidation using a lipid peroxidation generation system mediated by $H_{2}O_{2}/Fe^{2+}$ in rat liver homogenates. the peels of Cucumis melo, the leaves and the fruits of Solanum melongena, of Solanum melongena, The levels of Aster scaber and Chrysanthemum coronarium, the stems and leaves of Ipomoea batatas and the peels of Ipomoea batatas were found to exhibit a good protective activity against lipid peroxidatian in the order of effectiveness.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2007

Objectives: Our previous studies have clearly demonstrated that the scavenging activity of reactive oxygen species (ROS), protective effect of lipid peroxidation (LPO), and inhibition of cytochrome P450 isozymes (CYPs) from the Circium japonicum aqua-acupuncture solution (CJAS). But, Circium japonicum water extracted solution (CJWS) was weakly reported in cardiovascular diseases such as oxidative stress-mediated atherosclerosis or its value evaluated. Methods: CJWS was assessed to determine the mechanism of its scavenging activity of ROS and inhibitory effect of CYP 2E1. Results: CJWS exhibited a concentration-dependent scavenger of DPPH and superoxide anions radicals using different assay systems. In addition, CJWS showed dose-dependent free radical scavenging activity, including hydroxyl radicals, peroxynitrite, and nitric oxide. The CJWS was also found to be effective in protecting rat liver homogenate against LPO. Futhermore, the CJWS showed significant inhibition of CYP 2E1 induced by pyrazol in a rat liver microsome. Conclusion : ROS and CYPs may play a role in several diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Our study demonstrated that the CJWS has excellent scavenging activity of ROS. Hence, it is worthwhile to investigate the potential effectiveness of CJWS in preventing oxidative stress-mediated cardiovascular diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2012

In this paper, a stabilizd system operation through a composition of a protective circuit and an improvement of active reflection coefficient(ARC) is studied. Unlike the passive-phased array antenna, the APPA is a combined form of radiating element and transmitter-reciever module. Therefore, a definition of new ARC that differentiates itself from typical passive-phased array antenna must apply. The ARC is a reflection coefficient considering a superposition of a coupling from nearby radiating elements and self reflection. It is an important parameter that predicts and analyzes charateristics of a APPR system. A high level ARC is a direct source inducing a performance degradation of a system. In this paper, as a method for a stabilized operation of APAR, one method for improving a performance and another for degradation prevention are analyzed. An effectiveness of two methods was validated using experiment results of real-fabricated active-phased array antenna.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2014

The rapid increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with a state of elevated systemic oxidative stress and inflammation, is expected to cause future increases in the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and sugars produces reactive carbonyl species, which, due to their electrophilic nature, react with the nucleophilic sites of certain amino acids. This leads to formation of protein adducts such as advanced glycoxidation/lipoxidation end products (AGEs/ALEs), resulting in cellular dysfunction. Therefore, an effective reactive carbonyl species and AGEs/ALEs sequestering agent may be able to prevent such cellular dysfunction. There is accumulating evidence that histidine containing dipeptides such as carnosine (${\beta}$-alanyl-L-histidine) and anserine (${\beta}$-alanyl-methyl-L-histidine) detoxify cytotoxic reactive carbonyls by forming unreactive adducts and are able to reverse glycated protein. In this review, 1) reaction mechanism of oxidative stress and certain chronic diseases, 2) interrelation between oxidative stress and inflammation, 3) effective reactive carbonyl species and AGEs/ALEs sequestering actions of histidine-dipeptides and their metabolism, 4) effects of carnosinase encoding gene on the effectiveness of histidine-dipeptides, and 5) protective effects of histidine-dipeptides against progression of metabolic syndrome are discussed. Overall, this review highlights the potential beneficial effects of histidine-dipeptides against metabolic syndrome. Randomized controlled human studies may provide essential information regarding whether histidine-dipeptides attenuate metabolic syndrome in humans.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.35-45
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• 2011

Recently, with the increasement of the interest about global warming, pollutions, and so on, a number of distributed generations(DGs) such as photovoltaic(PV) and wind power(WP), are interconnected with distribution systems. However, installing of DGs makes power flow changes such as directions, one-direction to bi-direction, and increasing/decreasing of fault current. Therefore, it may cause the critical problems. This paper proposes an evaluation algorithm for bi-directional protection coordination and presents an evaluation system for protection coordination based on this algorithm. Additionally, the result shows that the existing method may cause critical problems, and also the effectiveness of proposed method is verified.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.9
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• pp.361-367
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• 2020

Background: Length of stay is a significant indicator of care effectiveness and hospital performance. Owing to the limited number of healthcare centers and facilities, it is important to optimize length of stay and associated factors. Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate factors associated with neonatal length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using parametric and semiparametric models and compare model fitness according to Akaike information criterion (AIC) between 2016 and 2018. Methods: This retrospective cohort study reviewed 600 medical records of infants admitted to the NICU of Bandar Abbas Hospital. Samples were identified using census sampling. Factors associated with NICU length of stay were investigated based on semiparametric Cox model and 4 parametric models including Weibull, exponential, log-logistic, and log-normal to determine the best fitted model. The data analysis was conducted using R software. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The study findings suggest that breastfeeding, phototherapy, acute renal failure, presence of mechanical ventilation, and availability of central venous catheter were commonly identified as factors associated with NICU length of stay in all 5 models (P<0.05). Parametric models showed better fitness than the Cox model in this study. Conclusion: Breastfeeding and availability of central venous catheter had protective effects against length of stay, whereas phototherapy, acute renal failure, and mechanical ventilation increased length of stay in NICU. Therefore, the identification of factors associated with NICU length of stay can help establish effective interventions aimed at decreasing the length of stay among infants.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.256-266
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of Magnolia Officinalis extracts on the animal model of depression induced by immobilization stress. Methods : The subjects were divided into 4 groups : normal, saline solution-administered during immobilization stress, 200 mg/kg of magnolia extracts-administered (magnolia extract 200), and 400 mg/kg of magnolia extracts- administered (magnolia extract 400). During 2 days of immobilization stress treatment, they underwent forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). The number of serotonin (5-HT) immunostained nuclei in the dorsal raphe nucleus regions was measured by immunohistochemistry. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in blood were measured. Results : In FST, magnolia-administered groups showed significantly decreased immobilization. In TST, the magnolia extract 400 group showed decreased immobilization. The stress group showed significantly decreased number of 5-HT immunostained nuclei in the dorsal raphe nucleus regions, while magnolia extract 400 group showed increased number of 5-HT immunostained nuclei. Stress group showed decrease in serum level of SOD and GPX, while the magnolia extract 200 group showed increase in serum level of SOD and GPX. Conclusions : These results suggest potent effectiveness of magnolia extracts in the treatment of depression.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.10-17
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• 2004

We investigated the effect of stabilization processing parameters on the thermal shrinkage, thermal stability and microstructure of rayon fabrics stabilized under various conditions such as heating rate, stabilization temperature, atmosphere gas, and chemical treatment. The presence and absence of phosphoric acid treatment and the heating rate have most importantly influenced the thermal shrinkage and the weight change of rayon fabrics. Especially, the phosphoric acid treatment decreases the reduction of thickness, length, and weight of the fabrics by about 80%, 20%, and 26%, respectively, in comparison with the untreated counterparts, showing the protective effectiveness of the thermal shrinkage involved. The thermal stability of stabilized rayon fabrics is also affected by all the processing conditions used: stabilization temperature, phosphoric acid treatment, atmosphere gas, and heating rate. In addition, the surface and diameter of the stabilized fiber significantly depend on the treatment of phosphoric acid prior to stabilization process.