• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.17-36
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• 2005

The objective of this study is to present basic data for producing tools to measure Yangseng of the elderly aged older than 65 by reassessing the validity and reliability of such tools already developed. In the present study, total 855 subjects were divided into 4 groups and given 31 question for the ultimate factor analysis of each item. The results cloud be summarized as follows: 1. In case of 'don't have sex in drunken state or right after dinner'(the 31st item of sex live yangseng). factor loading came out proportionally in 3 factors such as factor 4=0.358, factor 5=0.389 and factor 6=0.386. As they all failed to reach the general standard of 0.5 or more and even the minimum standard of 0.4 or more, the 31st item was deleted from the questionnaires. 2. From the factor analysis after exclusion of the 31st item, factor loading of the 25th item of sleep yangseng 'go to bed and get up regularly' appeared to be proportional in 2 factor(factor 4=0.393 and factor 7=0.373). Since it was shown that the 25th item could not be classified into a category but interacted with others in common and didn't satisfy the minimum standard of 0.4, it was deleted form the questionnaires, too. 3. From the factor analysis conducted after excluding the item numbers 31 and 25, factor loading of the 12th item of diet yangseng 'do not eat much' turned out to be relatively high with such values as factor 5=0.518 and factor 3=0.453. As it was, however, tied up with the factor of exercise yangseng, it was also deleted. In conclusion, 28 items after excluding the item numbers 12, 25 and 31 form 4 group showed the same results as divided into 8 factor with high grade of reliability and validity, evidencing the assumption that they can be employed practically to measure yangseng of the elderly aged 65 and oder.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2003

Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine. Several earlier studies indicated that an ethanol extract of RVS has both anti-oxidant and anti-tumor properties, although the mechanism for the activity remains to be elucidated. In this report, we prepared a highly purified ethanol extract from RVS, named REEE-1 ($\underline{R}$hus $\underline{e}$thanol $\underline{e}$luted $\underline{e}$xtract-1), and investigated the mechanism involved in its growth-inhibitory effect on the human B and T lymphoma cell lines, BJAB and Jurkat, respectively. Results from tritium uptake proliferation assays showed that the proliferative capacities of both BJAB and Jurkat cells were strongly suppressed in the presence of REEE-1. This was further confirmed through trypan blue exclusion experiments that revealed a dose-dependent decrease in viable cell numbers after REEE-1 treatment. REEE-1-mediated suppression of cell growth was verified to be apoptotic, based on the increase in DNA fragmentation, low fluorescence intensity in nuclei after propidium iodide staining, and the appearance of DNA laddering. In particular, REEE-1 exerted its anti-oxidant activity through the inhibition of hydroxyl radical-mediated degradation by iron ion chelation rather than direct scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, REEE-1 was revealed to be a potential scavenger of superoxide anions. Collectively, our findings suggest that REEE-1 is a natural anti-oxidant that could be used as a cancer chemo-preventive and therapeutic agent.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2311-2314
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• 2016

Pistagremic acid (PA) is a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from various parts of Pistacia integerrima plants. The aim of this research was to investigate PA for reversion of multidrug resistant (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein using rhodamine-123 exclusion study on a multidrug resistant human ABCB1 (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 1) gene-transfected mouse T-lymphoma cell line in vitro. Results were similar to those with verapamil as a positive control. Docking studies of PA and standard Rhodamine123 were carried out against a P-gp crystal structure which showed satisfactory results. Actually, PA cannot bind exactly where co-crystallized ligand of P-gp is already present. However, the docking study predicted that if a compound gives a lesser score then it may have some potency. The docking scores of PA and Rhodamine were similar. Therefore, we can conclude that there are certain important chemical features of PA which are responsible for the inhibiting potency of P-gp.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.53-66
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• 2009

Objective : Acupuncture has been widely used throughout the world for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (knee OA). This study investigated whether acupuncture, particularly Sa-am acupuncture, could be effective in relieving pain and improving the symptoms of knee OA. Method : This study was conducted as a prospective, randomized, controlled, and patient- and investigator-blinded clinical trial. Forty volunteers with knee OA participated in the study. All participants were screened through an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thirty four participants completed the clinical trial. In total, forty subjects were randomly selected to receive Sa-am acupuncture. Eight sessions of acupuncture were given at the contralateral side of the problematic knee for 4 weeks. Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (KWOMAC) scores were measured twice: at the beginning and end of the clinical trial period. Both the Patient Global Assessment and physical health scores based on the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey were also used to measure the results. Results : Compared to the pre-trial scores, the Sa-am acupuncture group (n=34) showed a significant decrease in KWOMAC total scores according to a paired t-test. The Sa-am acupuncture group also showed significant improvement in the Patient Global Assessment when compared to the pre-trial. Conclusions : Sa-am acupuncture for knee OA resulted in an improved KWOMAC total score. This was mostly driven by the function component score that was greatly affected by acupuncture. However, further studies with expanded designs are needed to solidify this finding with scientific rigor.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2022

Objectives: Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is commonly used for mandibular dentoalveolar surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of coadministration of dexamethasone (4 mg/mL) or adrenaline (0.01 mg/mL) as an adjuvant with lignocaine 2% in IANB during third molar surgery (TMS). Patients and Methods: This double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted between March and August 2020. The investigators screened patients needing elective TMS under local anesthesia. Based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients were enrolled in this study. These patients were assigned randomly into two study groups: dexamethasone group (DXN) or adrenaline group (ADN). Outcome variables were postoperative edema, trismus, visual analogue scale (VAS), perioperative analgesia, onset time, and duration of IANB. Results: Eighty-three patients were enrolled in this study, of whom 23 (27.7%) were eliminated or excluded during follow-up. This study thus included data from 60 samples. Mean age was 32.28±11.74 years, including 28 females (46.7%) in the ADN (16 patients, 57.1%) and DXN (12 patients, 42.9%) groups. The duration of action for DXN (mean±standard deviation [SD], 4:02:07±0:34:01 hours; standard error [SE], 0:06:00 hours; log-rank P=0.001) and for ADN (mean±SD, 1:58:34±0:24:52 hours; SE, 0:04:42 hours; log-rank P=0.001) were found. Similarly, time at which 1st analgesic consume and total number of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs need to rescue postoperative analgesia was found statistically significant between study groups (t (58)=-11.95; confidence interval, -2:25:41 to -1:43:53; P=0.001). Early-hours VAS was also significantly different between the study groups. Conclusion: A single injection of dexamethasone prolongs the duration of action of lignocaine 2% IANB. Additionally, it can be used in cases where adrenaline is contraindicated.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.37-50
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• 2016

This study aims to examine the effect that the degree of knowledge about country-of-origin labeling on country-of-origin labeling work performance, which is a culinary staff task. This study is also intended to analyze differences in knowledge depending on hours of origin labeling education, and the moderating effect of education hours in the relationship between knowledge and performance. This study targeted culinary staff members working in ten five-star hotels in Seoul. A total of 205 self-administered questionnaires were distributed from November 14th to 27th, 2014, and 240 questionnaires(98.4%) were used for analysis after the exclusion of 4 with unreliable responses. Based on the data collected, frequency analysis, reliability test, exploratory factor analysis, simple regression analysis, t-test and moderating regression analysis were conducted using SPSS 18.0 program. The study findings are as follows. Culinary staff knowledge of origin labeling had a significantly positive effect on job performance and the degree of knowledge was higher in the group that attended one to two-hour periods of education. This suggests a differences in knowledge depending on the hours of education, which then had a moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge and performance. In conclusion, in order to improve knowledge of country-of-origin labeling and the level of performance, there is a need to increase education hours and enable culinary staff memebers to learn more knowledge and apply it to actual tasks. Based on these results, the limitation of the study and the direction of future research were also discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.271-278
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• 2020

Glycerol dehydrogenase (GlyDH) catalyzes the oxidation of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is the first step in the glycerol metabolism pathway. GlyDH has attracted great interest for its potential industrial applications, since DHA is a precursor for the synthesis of many commercially valuable chemicals and various drugs. In this study, GlyDH from Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpGlyDH) was overexpressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity for biochemical and molecular characterization. KpGlyDH exhibits an exclusive preference for NAD⁺ over NADP⁺. The enzymatic activity of KpGlyDH is maximal at pH 8.6 and pH 10.0. Of the three common polyol substrates, KpGlyDH showed the highest k_cat/K_m value for glycerol, which is three times higher than for racemic 2,3-butanediol and 32 times higher than for ethylene glycol. The k_cat value for glycerol oxidation is notably high at 87.1 ± 11.3 sec^-1. KpGlyDH was shown to exist in an equilibrium between two different oligomeric states, octamer and hexadecamer, by size-exclusion chromatography analysis. KpGlyDH is structurally thermostable, with a T_m of 83.4℃, in thermal denaturation experiment using circular dichroism spectroscopy. The biochemical and biophysical characteristics of KpGlyDH revealed in this study should provide the basis for future research on its glycerol metabolism and possible use in industrial applications.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.985-992
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• 2016

Objective of the study is to evaluate volumetric and dosimetric alterations taking place during radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC) and to assess benefit of replanning in them. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with LAHNC fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in a prospective study. Planning scans were acquired both pre-treatment and after 20 fractions (mid-course) of radiotherapy. Single plan (OPLAN) based on initial CT scan was generated and executed for entire treatment course. Beam configuration of OPLAN was applied to anatomy of interim scan and a hybrid plan (HPLAN30) was generated. Adaptive replanning (RPLAN30) for remaining fractions was done and dose distribution with and without replanning compared for remaining fractions. Results: Substantial shrinkage of target volume (TV) and parotids after 4 weeks of radiotherapy was reported (p<0.05). No significant difference between planned and delivered doses was seen for remaining fractions. Hybrid plans showed increase in delivered dose to spinal cord and parotids for remaining fractions. Interim replanning improved homogeneity of treatment plan and significantly reduced doses to cord (Dmax, D2% and D1%) and ipsilateral parotid (D33%, D50% and D66%) (p<0.05). Conclusions: Use of one or two mid-treatment CT scans and replanning provides greater normal tissue sparing along with improved TV coverage.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 1999

The accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) of the lymph node was investigated through a review of 176 FNAC cases and the corresponding biopsies. We chose 157 FNAC cases after the exclusion of 19 inadequate ones. Sensitivity of malignancy was 94.0%, specificity 100%, false negativity 6.0%, and false positivity 0.0%. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 96.8%. Sensitivity of metastatic carcinoma was 98.0% and that of malignant lymphoma was 87.9%. False negative cases included one metastatic carcinoma and four malignant lymphomas. The aspirates of metastatic carcinoma with false negativity exhibited a diffuse smear of keratin debris without viable cells, which led to the difficulty in differentiation from benign epithelial cyst. The cases of malignant lymphoma with false negative diagnosis were two Hodgkin diseases, one Lennert's lymphoma, and one peripheral T cell lymphoma in the histologic sections. On the analysis of 39 cases of tuberculosis, 17 cases(43.6%) were diagnosed as tuberculosis, 4(10.3%) as granulomatous lymphadenitis, 3(7.7%) as necrotizing lymphadenitis, and 15(38.5%) as reactive hyperplasia or pyogenic inflammation. Sensitivity of tuberculosis was 53.9%. In conclusion, lymph node FNAC is an excellent non-invasive diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma. The diagnostic accuracy of malignant lymphoma could be improved with flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction for antigen receptor genes. For the FNAC diagnosis of tuberculosis, AFB stain, culture, and PCR would be helpful as adjuvant techniques.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2012

Mycobacterial cell-wall skeleton (CWS) is an immunoactive and biodegradable particulate adjuvant and has been tried to use for immunotherapy. The CWS of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG-CWS) was studied as an universal vaccine vehicle for antigen conjugation, to develop potentially effective and safe vaccine. Although a variety of biological activities of BCG-CWS have been studied, the effects of BCG-CWS on spleen cells are not fully elucidated. Using MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion test, we found that BCG-CWS significantly enhanced the viability and proliferation of cells. Multiple clusters, indicating proliferation, were observed in BCG-CWS-treated spleen cells and surface marker staining assay revealed that BCG-CWS promoted the proliferation of $CD19^+$ B lymphocyte rather than $CD4^+$ or $CD8^+$ T lymphocyte. In addition, BCG-CWS up-regulated the expression of anti-apoptotic molecules such as bcl-2, bcl-xL. BCG-CWS increased the surface expression of CD25 and CD69 as well as IL-2 production of spleen cells, suggesting increased activation. Furthermore, BCG-CWS enhanced the antigen-specific cell proliferation and interferon-gamma production of spleen cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate the immunostimulatory effects of BCG-CWS on spleen cells via multiple mechanisms, providing valuable information to broaden the use of BCG-CWS in clinical and research settings.