• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.327-334
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• 2017

The flood pulse in streams enhances the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the channel-floodplain ecosystems by exchanging water, nutrients, sediments and organisms. However, the lateral connectivity in most streams of Korea has been disrupted by the levee constructions for the purpose of flood control and land use of floodplains. To compare the characteristics of floodplain vegetation according to existence of lateral connectivity in streams, we investigated the geomorphological and soil environmental factors and structures and distribution of vegetation in the floodplains connected and isolated by levee to the channel in Cheongmi Stream, Seom River, Hwangguji Stream, Mangyeong River, Gomakwon Stream, and Boseong River, Korea. In comparison of soil environments, moisture and clay contents were higher in the isolated floodplain than in the connected floodplain. According to the result of principal component analysis (PCA) using environmental data, the environments of the connected floodplain and the isolated floodplain were separated by soil moisture contents, soil texture and distribution altitude of the vegetation. The results of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) using vegetation data showed that the isolated floodplain was dominated by the hydropythic communities of diverse life form and that the connected floodplain was dominated by the hygrophytic communities that endure disturbance. In conclusion, it is thought that the vegetation of the floodplain changed to the lentic wetland vegetation dominated by diverse hydrophytes as the floodplain was isolated from the channel by artificial levees.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2011

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease and is led to physical disability. Yet the development of effective disease-modifying treatments has lagged. In this study, I examined the effect of physical therapeutic intervention through microcurrent stimulation and attempt to find which degree of intensity, either 25 ${\mu}A$ or 500 ${\mu}A$ with a regular 5 pps pulse, is more effective in the osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis was induced with a mixture of 2% carrageenan and 2% kaolin in 26 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The mixture (0.1 $m{\ell}$) was injected into the intra-articular capsule of knee joint once a week for three weeks. Five animals did not show degenerative changes by radiological findings and excluded in the following experiment. Osteoarthritic animals were randomly divided into 3 groups ($n_1$, $n_2$, $n_3$=7/each): untreated, treated with 25 ${\mu}A$, treated with 500 ${\mu}A$. All experimental groups received microcurrent stimulation for four weeks (15 min/day, 5 days/week). The ethological inspection of foot print analysis on the walking corridor was accomplished every week. Histological preparations and immunohistochemical staining with insulin-like growth factor-1 were also done in the articular cartilages. All of these parameters were compared with those of osteoarthritic control group (n=7). The ethological inspection of foot print analysis revealed that changes of walking track (paw width) and stride length was significantly increased in both experimental groups. The better results were observed in experimental group treated with 25 ${\mu}A$ intensity without significance than group treated with 500 ${\mu}A$. Histological preparations disclosed that routine hyaline cartilage of articular surface were altered to fibrous cartilage in untreated group and experimental group treated with 500 ${\mu}A$ intensity. But a little changes were seen in experimental group treated with 25 ${\mu}A$ intensity. Immunolocalization of insulin-like growth factor-1 was simultaneously decreased according to the duration of osteoarthritis, and did not show significant difference among the groups. In this study discovered that the microcurrent stimulation, especially 25 ${\mu}A$ intensity, had a positive effect by the ethological inspection, histological and immunohistochemical stainings. These results suggest that microcurrent stimulation with low-intensity might be effective in the promotion of healing process for the osteoarthritis.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.102-108
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• 1996

This was an open trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of moclobemide twice daily for treatment of Korean patients with major depressive disorder(DSM-III-R). The duration of the trial was 6 weeks with the initial dose of moclobemide being fixed lor the first two weeks at 300mg/day(150mg twice daily, each token after morning and evening meals). Thereafter, when necessary, the dose was allowed to increase to 600mg/day or decrease to 150mg/day according to the seventy of the depression and/or the tolerability of the drug. Hypnotics and/or sedatives from a benzodiazepine group could be concomitantly administered at usual dosage. Patients were assessed at baseline and at days 14, 28 and 42. Efficacy was primarily judged on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression(HAM-D) and Beck Depression Inventory(BDI). Patients had to score at least 17 respectively an both scales to enter the trial. Secondary efficacy parameters included Clinical Global Impression(CGI) for severity of illness and improvement. Safety and tolerability were judged on reported adverse events, vital signs and laboratory parameters. In addition, there was a series of questions and assessments for the psychiatrists and patients to complete at the end of the trial Twenty nine patients completing trial were included in the analysis of efficacy : of thirty one patients participating in the safety and tolerability analysis, those who withdraw voluntarily without particular reasons or violated the treatment schedule were not included. The efficacies as determined by HAM-D, BDI or CGI were found to be significant compared to baseline. The number of responders defined as patients with a total score of 10 or less or with a total score of 50% or less of the baseline score on HAM-D and BDI were 17(59%) and 18(62%) respectively. Regarding safety and tolerability, nine patients(29%) reported mild adverse events probably related to moclobemide : of these one patient dropped out because of poor tolerability : however, there were no appreciable changes in blood pressure, pulse rate, body weight or laboratory parameters for all patients over the trial period. Furthermore, the physicians' and patients' opinions at final evaluation showed that moclabemide has a good antidepressant effect as well as a favorable tolerability. In conclusion, a twice-daily dosage schedule with maclobemide is recommendable for the treatment of Korean patients with major depressive disorder since its efficacy and safety were demonstrated in this study.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.411-417
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• 2000

This paper describes the analysis of the oscillometric method based on the shape of arterial pressure and proposal of a new algorithm for estimating the blood pressure by computer simulation. In the first step, the arterial pressure model which is able to control the shape of arterial pressure was designed and then we simulated the oscillometric model using both the existing exponential model showing the static arterial pressure-volume relation and the designed arterial pressure model. By analyzing the correlation of characteristic ratio based on the shape of arterial pressure, we could find that the characteristic ratio was not the only standard parameter for estimating systolic and diastolic pressure. We were able to estimate the shape of arterial pressure by computing the correlation of arterial pressure shape with oscillation shape. Finally, we proposed an algorithm which is able to estimate systolic and diastolic pressure according to pressure(Pp) table constructed from the relation of maximum amplitude of oscillation and arterial pressure shape. We tested 60 arterial pressure waveforms having various arterial pressure shape and pulse. As a results, the absolute deviation average values of the estimation of systolic, diastolic and mean pressure were 1.62%, 2.40% and 2.20%, respectively. In conclusions, the proposed algorithm showed the possibility of usefullness in estimating the blood pressure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.43-49
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• 1998

Retardation effect of heavy metals in soils caused by adsorption onto the surfaces of solids particles is well known phenomena. The adsorption of metal ions has been recognized more strong in clay mineral and organic matter contents rather than sands and gravels. In this study, we investigated the retardation effect in two sandy soils by conducting batch and column tests. The column tests were conducted to obtain the relationship between concentration and time known as breakthrough curve (BTC). We applied pulse type injection of ZnCl$_2$solution on the inlet boundary and monitored the effluent concentration at the exit boundary under steady state condition using EC-meter and ICP-AES. Batch test consisted of an equilibrium procedure for fine fractions collected from two sandy soils for various initial ZnCl$_2$concentrations, and analysis of Zn ions in equilibrated solution using ICP-AES. The results of column test showed that i) the peak concentration of Zn analyzed by ICP was far less than that detected by EC-meter for both soils and ii) travel times for peak concentration were more less identical for two different monitoring techniques. The first result can be explained by ion exchange between Zn and other cations initially present in the soil particles since ICP analysis showed a significant amount of Ca, Mg ions in the effluent. From the second result, we found that retardation effect was not present in these soils due to strong cation exchange capacity of Zn ion over other cations since we did not apply a solution containing more adsorptive cations such as Al. The result of batch test also showed high distribution coefficients (K$_{d}$) for two soils supporting the dominant ion exchange phenomena. Based on the retardation factor obtained from the Kd, we predicted the BTC using CDE model and compared with the BTC of Zn concentration obtained from ICP The predicted BTC, however, disagreed with the monitored in terms of travel time and magnitude of the peak concentrations. The only way to describe the prominent decrease of Zn ion was to introduce decay or sink coefficient in the CDE model to account for irreversible decrease of Zn ions in liquid phase.e.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.719-725
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• 1998

Tridentate Schiff base ligands were prepared by the reactions of salicylaldehyde and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde with 2-aminophenol and 2-amino-p-cresol. And then Cu(II) complexes of those ligands were synthesized. The structures and properties of ligands and their complexes were studied by elemental analysis, $^1H$-NMR, IR, UV-visible spectra, and thermogravimetric analysis. The mole ratio of Schiff base to the metal of complexes was found to be 1:1. Cu(II) complexes were contemplated to be four-coordinated square planar configuration containing one water molecule. The redox process of ligands and complexes in DMSO solution containing 0.1 M TBAP as a supporting electrolyte was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry with glassy carbon electrode. The redox process of the tridentate Schiff base ligands was totally irreversible. The redox process of Cu(II) complexes was quasi-reversible and diffusion-controlled as one electron by one step process Cu(II)/Cu(I). The reduction potentials of the Cu(II) complexes shifted in the positive direction in the order of [Cu(II)(HNIPC)($H_2O$)]>[Cu(II)(HNIP)($H_2O$)]>[Cu(II)(SIP)($H_2O$)]>[Cu(II)(SIPC)($H_2O$)].

• Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.449-454
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• 2018

Objective: The SAFARI score was introduced to assess the risk of convulsive seizure during admission for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2017. This study was conducted to determine whether the SAFARI score derived from the afore-mentioned study could be applied to patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in Korea. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients who were diagnosed with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage from March 2013 to October 2017. Patients' age, sex, blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, Glasgow-Coma Scale, Hunt-Hess scale, modified Fisher grade, size of ruptured aneurysm, surgery type, transfusion, and SAFARI score were compared between the seizure and non-seizure groups. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curves was calculated to evaluate the predictive ability for seizure during admission. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze predictive factors for seizure during admission. Results: A total of 220 patients were included. Ninety-seven (44.1%) were male and 123 (55.9%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 65.8 years old (range, 56-75). The area under the curve of the SAFARI score for predicting seizure was 0.813. The SAFARI score was the only significant predictor of seizure during admission, while other factors were not statistically significant upon logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: The SAFARI score could be used for predicting seizure during admission in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.501-514
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of Chikusetsusaponin V (CsV) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and vascular endothelial cell functions. Different concentrations of CsV were added to animal models, bovine aorta endothelial cells (BAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured in vitro. qPCR, Western blotting (WB), and B ultrasound were performed to explore the effects of CsV on mouse endothelial cell functions, vascular stiffness and cellular eNOS mRNA, protein expression and NO release. Bioinformatics analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking and protein mass spectrometry analysis were conducted to jointly predict the upstream transcription factors of eNOS. Furthermore, pulldown and ChIP and dual luciferase assays were employed for subsequent verification. At the presence or absence of CsV stimulation, either overexpression or knockdown of purine rich element binding protein A (PURA) was conducted, and PCR assay was employed to detect PURA and eNOS mRNA expressions, Western blot was used to detect PURA and eNOS protein expressions, cell NO release and serum NO levels. Tube formation experiment was conducted to detect the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. The animal vasodilation function test detected the vasodilation functions. Ultrasonic detection was performed to determine the mouse aortic arch pulse wave velocity to identify aortic stiffness. CsV stimulus on bovine aortic cells revealed that CsV could upregulate eNOS protein levels in vascular endothelial cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. The expression levels of eNOS mRNA and phosphorylation sites Ser1177, Ser633 and Thr495 increased significantly after CsV stimulation. Meanwhile, CsV could also enhance the tube forming capability of HUVECs cells. Following the mice were gavaged using CsV, the eNOS protein level of mouse aortic endothelial cells was upregulated in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and serum NO release and vasodilation ability were simultaneously elevated whereas arterial stiffness was alleviated. The pulldown, ChIP and dual luciferase assays demonstrated that PURA could bind to the eNOS promoter and facilitate the transcription of eNOS. Under the conditions of presence or absence of CsV stimulation, overexpression or knockdown of PURA indicated that the effect of CsV on vascular endothelial function and eNOS was weakened following PURA gene silence, whereas overexpression of PURA gene could enhance the effect of CsV upregulating eNOS expression. CsV could promote NO release from endothelial cells by upregulating the expression of PURA/eNOS pathway, improve endothelial cell functions, enhance vasodilation capability, and alleviate vessel stiffness. The present study plays a role in offering a theoretical basis for the development and application of CsV in vascular function improvement, and it also provides a more comprehensive understanding of the pharmacodynamics of CsV.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.50-60
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• 2011

Objectives : This study was aimed to clarify the relationship between the dampness-phlegm diagnosis and internal carotid artery stenosis by measuring carotid artery sonography in cerebral infarction patients. Methods : One hundred eighty subjects were recruited from the patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine at Kyunghee university oriental medical center from September 2008 to July 2010. We assessed one hundred eighty patients' carotid artery sonography data and diagnosed dampness-phlegm by oriental medical diagnosis. then, analyzed their characteristics, risk factor, lifestyle, metabolic syndrome, body mass index, Waist/Hip ratio(W/H ratio) and dampness-phlegm diagnosis. Results : On the demographic variables of the patients, age, smoking, W/H ratio and dampness-phlegm group were significantly higher in severe internal carotid artery(ICA) stenosis group than in the control group. According to the significant difference in dampness-phlegm group, we analyzed dampness-phlegm related index for pattern identifications by ICA stenosis. As a result, sputum, bowel sound, chest discomfort, slippery pulse were significantly higher in the severe ICA stenosis group than in the control group. In multivariate analysis, dampness-phlegm group showed close relationship with severe ICA stenosis group. Conclusion : According to the analysis, significance between dampness-phlegm diagnosed patients group and severe ICA stenosis were clarified. These results can be utilized in the future as a basis material.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.11
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• pp.1078-1084
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• 2007

Purpose : The prevalence of childhood obesity has doubled over the last 30 years. Obesity-associated sequelae in the vasculature begins in the early stages of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how pulse wave velocity (PWV) and ankle brachial index (ABI) change with height, weight and body mass index (BMI) in obese adolescents. Methods : Seventy-nine obese adolescents (group 1: $85th{\leq}BMI<95th$ percentile, n=40; group 2 ($BMI{\geq}95th$ percentile, n=39) were included. The control group(group 3) included 99 healthy adolescents. Brachial- ankle (ba) PWV and ABI were estimated with blood pressure from four extremities. Heart rate (HR), and pre-ejection period/ejection time (PEP/ET) were also estimated. BMI was calculated from individual height and weight. Linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the correlations between BMI and PWV. Results : Blood pressure and baPWV were significantly higher in group 2, compared to either group 1 or group 3. However, there was no significant difference in ABI, HR and PEP/ET between the groups. PWV showed linear correlation with both BMI and body weight. Conclusion : Obesity was associated with higher arterial stiffness in adolescents, which was demonstrated by an increase in PWV. There was no significant correlation between obesity and ABI.