• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2017

Purpose: The inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in children with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is common. This study evaluated the factors that influence antibiotics use in hospitalized children with viral URTI confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assay. Methods: The medical records of admitted patients who performed RT-PCR assay for respiratory virus pathogens from January 2013 to November 2014 were examined. The demographic and clinical features were compared between patients who were administered antibiotics at admission and those who were not. We also investigated differences between children who continued antibiotics and those who stopped antibiotics after a viral pathogen was identified. Results: In the total 393 inpatients, the median age was 23 months (interquartile range, 13 to 41.3 months). Antimicrobial agents were prescribed in 79 patients (20.1%) at admission. Patients with acute otitis media (AOM) had higher rates of antibiotics prescription than those without AOM (48.1% vs. 2.2%, P<0.001), with an adjusted odds ratio of 91.1 (95% confidence interval, 30.5 to 271.7). Level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and the proportion of acute rhinosinusitis were also significantly associated with antibiotics use (P<0.001). Among the 44 patients with viruses identified using the RT-PCR method during hospitalization, antibiotic use was continued in 28 patients (63.6%). AOM was statistically associated with continued antibiotic use in the patients (P=0.002). Conclusions: Although the respiratory virus responsible for URTI etiology is identified, clinicians might not discontinue antibiotics if AOM is accompanying. Therefore, careful diagnosis and management of AOM could be a strategy to reduce unjustified antibiotic prescriptions for children with URTI.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.155-161
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• 2014

This study presents the real-time emotion image contents player to induce the user's emotion efficiently. The emotion image contents player was designed to efficiently induce by giving a change in the color, brightness, saturation of image contents corresponded to the user's emotion. In the emotion recognition module, physiological signal of pulse, skin temperature, skin resistance which based on autonomic nervous system were used. The emotion recognition part used physiological signal of pulse, skin temperature, skin resistance based on autonomic nervous system. The image as emotional contents was used with the 9 kinds emotion area classified in international affective picture system(IAPS). As experimental results, the use's emotion that match the image's emotion with the emotion image contents player was derived 10% more accurately. The emotion contents player is expected to increase emotional feeling between users's emotion and contents emotion duo to the real-time emotion reflection.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.127-132
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• 2015

In this study, biochar-bead, prepared from biochar powder derived from woody biomass, was used for removal cadmium ion in aqueous solution. Various mixing ratios of alginate solution and biochar powder were used for the production of round shape biochar-bead. An optimum mixing ratio was selected as 1.5% alginate solution and 20 wt% biochar. The produced biochar-bead was characterized by SEM, FT-IR, and XRD analyses. The adsorption capacity of Cd(II) by biochar-bead was found to be 9.72 mg/g which was higher than that by GAC and PAC. According to this study, round shape biochar-bead is expected to be used as a media for reactive barrier or water filtration.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.187-193
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• 2010

Chromium nitride (CrN) samples with two different layer structures (multilayer and single layer) were coated on bipolar plates of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) using the reactive sputtering method. The effects with respect to layer structure on corrosion resistance and overall cell performance were investigated. A continuous and thin chromium nitride layer ($Cr_{0.48}\;N_{0.52}$) was formed on the surface of the SUS 316L when the nitrogen flow rate was 10 sccm. The electrochemical stability of the coated layers was examined using the potentiodynamic and potentiostatic methods in the simulated corrosive circumstances of the PEMFC under $80^{\circ}C$. Interfacial contact resistance (ICR) between the CrN coated sample and the gas diffusion layer was measured by using Wang's method. A single cell performance test was also conducted. The test results showed that CrN coated SUS316L with multilayer structure had excellent corrosion resistance compared to single layer structures and single cell performance results with $25\;cm^2$ in effective area also showed the same tendency. The difference of the electrochemical properties between the single and multilayer samples was attributed to the Cr interlayer layer, which improved the corrosion resistance. Because the coating layer was damaged by pinholes, the Cr layer prevented the penetration of corrosive media into the substrate. Therefore, the CrN with a multilayer structure is an effective coating method to increase the corrosion resistance and to decrease the ICR for metallic bipolar plates in PEMFC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1155-1160
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• 2012

Sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrification relies on an inorganic carbon source to reduce the nitrate by producing sulfuric acid as an end product and can be used for the treatment of wastewaters containing high levels of nitrates. In this study, sulfur-denitrifying bacteria were used in anoxic batch tests with sulfur as the electron donor and nitrate as the electron acceptor. Various medium components were tested under different conditions. Sulfur denitrification can drop the medium pH by producing acid, thus stopping the process half way. To control this mechanism, a 2:1 ratio of sulfur to oyster shell powder was used. Oyster shell powder addition to a sulfur-denitrifying reactor completely removed the nitrate. Using 50, 100, and 200 g of sulfur particles, reaction rate constants of 5.33, 6.29, and $7.96mg^{1/2}/l^{1/2}{\cdot}h$ were obtained, respectively; and using 200 g of sulfur particles showed the highest nitrate removal rates. For different sulfur particle sizes ranging from small (0.85-2.0 mm), medium (2.0-4.0 mm), and large (4.0-4.75 mm), reaction rate constants of 31.56, 10.88, and $6.23mg^{1/2}/l^{1/2}{\cdot}h$ were calculated. The fastest nitrate removal rate was observed for the smallest particle size. Addition of chemical oxygen demand (COD), methanol as the external carbon source, with the autotrophic denitrification in sufficiently alkaline conditions, created a balance between heterotrophic denitrification (which raises the pH) and sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrification, which lowers the pH.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.971-977
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• 2009

The most abundant tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been reported to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in many types of cancer cells. In the present study, effects of EGCG on the growth of oral epithelial cells including CAL-27 oral squamous carcinoma cells and dysplastic oral keratinocytes (DOK) were investigated. EGCG inhibited growth of CAL-27 cells and DOK with $IC_{50}$ of 14.4-21.0 and 5.8-14.2 ${\mu}M$ after 24 and 48 hr incubation, respectively. EGCG was significantly less effective in inhibiting DOK growth. The effects of EGCG, however, were dramatically less pronounced in the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Inhibitory effects of EGCG on CAL-27 cell growth were also much less pronounced in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS). EGCG induced caspase-3 activation in both CAL-27 and DOK cells in a serum free condition without SOD/catalase; in the presence of 10% FBS and SOD/catalase, EGCG, even at 100 ${\mu}M$, did not affect cell growth. The present results indicate that EGCG inhibited oral cell growth with higher potency to more malignant CAL-27 cells than DOK, and the effects were markedly altered by SOD/catalase and serum content in media.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1102-1107
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• 2003

The ES cell can provide a useful system for studying differentiation and development in vitro and a powerful tool for producing transgenic animalds. To investigate the culture condition of chicken embryonic stem (CES) cells which can retain their multipotentiality or totipotency, three kinds of feeder layer cells, SNL cells, primary mice embryonic fibroblasts (PMEF) cells and primary chicken embryonic fibroblasts (PCEF) cells, were used as the feeder cells in media of DMEM supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and stem cell factor (SCF) for co-culture with blastoderm cells from stage X embryos of chicken. The alkaline phosphatase (AKP) test, differentiation experiment in vitro and chimeric chicken production were carried out. The results showed that culture on feeder layer of PMEF yielded high quality CES cell colonies. The typical CES cells clone shape revealed as follows: nested aggregation (clone) with clear edge and round surface as well as close arrangement within the clone. Strong alkaline phosphatase (AKP) reactive cells were observed in the fourth passage cells. On the other hand, the fourth passage CES cells could differentiate into various cells in the absence of feeder layer cells and LIF in vitro. The third and fourth passage cells were injected into the subgerminal cavity of recipient embryos at stage X. Of 269 Hailan embryos injected with CES cells of Shouguang Chickens, 8.2% (22/269) survived to hatching, 5 feather chimeras had been produced. This suggests that an effective culture system established in this study can promote the growth of CES cells and maintain them in the state of undifferentiated and development, which lays a solid foundation for the application of CES cells and may provide an alternative tool for genetic modification of chickens.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.349-354
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of vanillic acid on the cell viability and melanogenesis in melanocytes damaged by reactive oxygen species (ROS). The human skin melanoma cells (SK-MEL-3) were cultured with various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide $(H_2O_2)$. The cell viability for $H_2O_2$-induced cytotoxicity or vanillic acid against $H_2O_2$ was measured by XTT assay in these cultures. For the effect of vanillic acid on the melanogenesis, the tyrosinase inhibitory activity was measured by colorimetric assay at a wavelength of 490 nm, and melanin synthesis activity were assessed after cells were cultured in the media with or without various cencentrations of vanillic acid. In this study, $H_2O_2$ decreased cell viability dose- and time-dependent manners and $XTT_{50}$ was determined at a concentration of 80 ${\mu}M$, $H_2O_2$. Vanillic acid increased the cell viability dose dependently in human skin melanoma cells damaged by $H_2O_2$-induced cytotoxicity. In the tyrosinase inhibitory activity, vanillic acid supresssed tyrosinase activity in dosedependent manner, and also decreased significantly melanin synthesis activity compared with $H_2O_2$-treated group. From these results. It is suggested that $H_2O_2$-mediated cytotoxicity was highly by the toxic criteria of Borenfreund and Puerner and also, vanillic acid has the protective effect on ROS-induced cytotoxicity and melanogenesis in these cultures.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2003

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a ubiquitous environmental toxicant that can be exposed to humans by ingestion of contaminated food including fish and bread. MeHg has been suggested to exert its toxicity through its high reactivity to thiols, generation of arachidonic acid and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and elevation of intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ levels (［$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$). However, the precise mechanism has not been fully defined. Here we show that phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) is a critical pathway for MeHg-induced toxicity. MeHg activated the acidic form of sphingomyelinase (A-SMase) and group IV cytosolic phospholipase $A_2$ ($cPLA_2$) downstream of PC-PLC, but these enzymes as well as protein kinase C were not linked to MeHg's toxicity. Furthermore, MeHg produced ROS, which did not cause the toxicity. However, D6O9, an inhibitor of PC-PLC, significantly reversed the toxicity in a time- and dose-dependent manner in MDCK and SH-5YSY cells. Addition of EGTA to culture media resulted in partial decrease of [$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$ and partially blocked cell death. In contrast, D609 completely prevented cell death with parallel decreases in diacylglycerol and ［$Ca^{2+}$］$_{i}$. Together, our findings indicated that MeHg-induced toxicity was caused by elevation of ［$Ca^{2+}$]$_{i}$ through activation of PC-PLC. The toxicity was not attributable to the signaling pathways such as $cPLA_2$, A-SMase, and PKC, or to the generation of ROS.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.72-78
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• 2013

This work aimed to assess some pharmacological activities of P. leptostachya var. asiatica Hara. The dried roots of P. leptostachya var. asiatica Hara were extracted with 70% ethanol to generate the powdered extract, named PLE. Anti-angiogenic activity was detected using chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated via analyzing nitric oxide (NO) content, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Antioxidant activity was determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in the stimulated macrophage cells. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and -2 (MMP-2) activities in the culture media were detected using zymography. PLE exhibits an anti-angiogenic activity in the CAM assay, and displays an inhibitory action on the generation of NO in the LPS-stimulated macrophage cells. In the stimulated macrophage cells, it is able to diminish the enhanced ROS level. It can potently scavenge the stable DPPH free radical. It suppresses the induction of iNOS and COX-2 and the enhanced MMP-9 activity in the stimulated macrophage cells. Both monooxygenase and oxidase activities of tyrosinase were strongly inhibited by PLE. Taken together, the dried roots of P. leptostachya var. asiatica Hara possess anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and skin whitening activities, which might partly provide its therapeutic efficacy in traditional medicine.