• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.71-76
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Pueraria lobata extract on focal cerebral ischemia in mice. Methods : Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery using the intraluminal filament model. ICR male mice underwent 90 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) followed by 24 hours of reperfusion. Mice were administered Pueraria lobata extract orally at the dose of 300mg/kg just prior to reperfusion. Rotarod test and balance beam test were practiced to assess sensory-motor function 23 hours after MCAo. In rotarod test, the latency to fall on the accelerating rotarod was recorded for 5 min. In balance beam test, the score was graded according to number of slips and latency to cross. The infarct volume was measured 24 hours after MCAo using 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Results : Pueraria lobata extract treated group showed significant reduction in infarct volume by 27.3% compared to control group (p<0.05). In rotatod test, it also showed significant extension of latency time compared to control group ($67.82{\pm}15.08$ vs. $5.62{\pm}1.06$, p<0.001). In contrast to performance in rotarod test, that in balance beam test did not improve with Pueraria lobata extract treatment. Conclusions : We conclude that Pueraria lobata extract has a significant neuroprotective effect and reduces damage of sensory-motor function in MCAo model. These findings suggest that Pueraria lobata could be a potent neuroprotective agent.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

Lithium metal is the most promising anode for next-generation lithium-ion batteries due to its lowest reduction potential (-3.04 V vs. SHE) and high specific capacity (3860 mAh/g). However, the dendritic formation under high charging current density remains one of main technical barriers to be used for commercial rechargeable batteries. To address these issues, tremendous research to suppress lithium dendrite formation have been conducted through new electrolyte formulation, robust protection layer, shape-controlled lithium metal, separator modification, etc. However, Li/Li symmetric cell test is always a starting or essential step to demonstrate better lithium dendrite formation behavior with lower overpotential and longer cycle life without careful analysis. Thus, this review summarizes overpotential behaviors of Li/Li symmetric cells along with theoretical explanations like initial peaking or later arcing. Also, we categorize various overpotential data depending on research approaches and discuss them based on peaking and arcing behaviors. Thus, this review will be very helpful for researchers in lithium metal to analyze their overpotential behaviors.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.15-24
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• 2006

The evaluation of shear modulus is very important in various fields of civil engineering. Non-destructive seismic methods can be used to determine shear wave velocity ($V_s$) profile. Non-destructive seismic methods geneally consist of three steps: field testing, evaluation of dispersion curve, and determination of Vs profile by inversion process. Non-destructive seismic methods can be divided into two categories according to the number of receivers used for data reduction: two-channel tests and multi-channel tests. Two channel tests use apparent velocity dispersion curve and multi-channel tests use mode dispersion curves. Multi-channel tests using mode dispersion curve can reduce calculation time to determine soil profile and uncertainties in inversion process. So far, only multi-channel tests can determine mode dispersion curves but multi-channel test needs many receivers to determine reasonable mode dispersion curves. In this paper, HWAW (Harmonic Wavelet Analysis of Wave) method is applied to determine mode dispersion curves. HWAW method uses short test setup which consists of two receivers with a spacing of 1 to 3 m. Through numerical simulations and field application, it is shown that HWAW can determine resonable mode disperson curves.

• Journal of The Korean Ophthalmological Society
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.126-134
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• 2019

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of toric intraocular lens (IOL) implantation by the location and size of the corneal incision. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 98 patients (98 eyes) who underwent phacoemulsification with toric IOL implantation from January 2014 to March 2017. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 got an incision of the superior side of the cornea (n = 54) and group 2 received an incision on the temporal side of the eye (n = 44). For both groups, incisions were made at their steep corneal astigmatism axises. Each group was further divided into subgroups for whom different sized blades were employed (2.75 vs. 2.2 mm widths). We measured the refractive index and autokeratometric parameters. We postoperatively assessed residual astigmatism and any reduction thereof. Results: In both groups, uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, refraction cylinder astigmatism, and autokeratometric astigmatism improved statistically. Between two groups, corneal astigmatism decrease was not significant. Residual astigmatism also showed no significant differences between the two. Patients in both groups treated using 2.75 mm wide blades exhibited greater increases in corneal astigmatism. Conclusions: During cataract surgery, precise correction of astigmatism via toric IOL implantation is possible when surgically induced astigmatism is minimized by careful choice of the location and size of the corneal incision.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.256-267
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• 2024

Background and Objectives: Accumulating evidence shows that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether SGLT2i, compared with other antidiabetic drugs, reduce the new development of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. In this study, we compared SGLT2i with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) in terms of reduction in the risk of AF in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We included 42,786 propensity score-matched pairs of SGLT2i and DPP-4i users without previous AF diagnosis using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Results: During a median follow-up of 1.3 years, SGLT2i users had a lower incidence of AF than DPP-4i users (1.95 vs. 2.65 per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55-0.97; p=0.028]). In individuals without heart failure, SGLT2i users was associated with a decreased risk of AF incidence (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.52-0.94; p=0.019) compared to DPP-4i users. However, individuals with heart failure, SGLT2i users was not significantly associated with a change in risk (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.44-2.44; p=0.936). Conclusions: In this nationwide cohort study of individuals with type 2 diabetes, treatment with SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF compared with treatment with DPP-4i.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.756-766
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• 2024

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation in treating solitary low-risk T2N0M0 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and compare the outcomes of microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single center study involved 34 patients (age: 40.0 ± 13.9 years; 28 female) who had low-risk T2N0M0 PTC with a maximum diameter >2 cm and ≤4 cm and underwent MWA (n = 15) or RFA (n = 19) from November 2016 to April 2023. The primary outcomes were the cumulative rate of disease progression and delayed surgery rates. In contrast, the secondary outcomes included changes in tumor size, cumulative rate of complete tumor disappearance, and complication rates. Results: The median follow-up period was 18.0 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 9.0-40.0 months). At 12 months, the median volume reduction rate of the ablation zone was 74.2% (IQR: 53.7%-86.0%). Disease progression was noted in two patients within 1 year, including one patient with local tumor progression post-RFA and one with a new tumor post-MWA, resulting in a constant cumulative disease progression rate of 8.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0%-19.8%) throughout the remaining follow-up period. Both patients were subsequently treated with additional ablation and did not require surgery. The cumulative rates of complete tumor disappearance at 1, 3, and 5 years were 4.0% (95% CI: 0%-11.4%), 26.8% (95% CI: 2.7%-44.9%), and 51.2% (95% CI: 0%-79.1%), respectively. No significant differences were observed in the disease progression (P = 0.829) or complete tumor disappearance (P = 0.633) rates between the MWA and RFA groups. Complications occurred in 14.7% (5/34) of patients presenting with transient hoarseness. RFA had a higher but not statistically significant complication rate than MWA did (21.1% [4/19] vs. 6.7% [1/15]; P = 0.355). Conclusion: Both MWA and RFA demonstrated promising short-term outcomes in terms of efficacy and safety in treating solitary low-risk T2N0M0 PTC, with no significant differences.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2012

In this study we investigated the effects of operational parameters of a multi-layered soil filtration (filter depth, filtration velocity, and continuous/intermittent operation) on removal of pollutants in river water. As filter depth increased removal of all the pollutants (COD, TP, TN, and $NH_4$-N) was increased because the increase in filter depth increased in contact time between media and pollutants. The removal of TP and $NH_4$-N more increased with the increase in filter depth, comparing to the biological COD removal which was performed only in the top layer, since the removal mechanism of TP and $NH_4$-N was physicochemical process occurring throughout the whole layers. However, the reduction in filtration velocity resulted in decrease of removal all the pollutants removal due to shorter retention time. Biological COD removal was more influenced with the reduction in filtration velocity (longer retention time), than the removal of TP and $NH_4$-N. Because biological process was occurred only in the top layer which has relatively shorter retention time, comparing with physicochemical process occurred throughout whole media. Therefore, it is desirable that the operation parameters be controlled toward increasing retention time, in order to achieve efficient pollutants removal. The change in operation mode (continuos vs. intermittent operations) did not provide significant effects on the pollutant treatment efficiency by the multi-layered soil filtration system. Our findings suggest that for stable long-term operation it should be considered keeping conditions for biological activity and accelerating clogging.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.747-754
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• 2005

Nutritional regulation of gene expression associated with growth and feeding behavior in avian species can become an important technique to improve poultry production according to the supply of nutrients in the diet. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) found in chickens has been characterized to be a 70 amino acid polypeptide and plays an important role in growth and metabolism. Although it is been well known that IGF-I is highly associated with embryonic development and post-hatching growth, changes in the distribution of IGF-I gene expression throughout early- to late-embryogenesis have not been studied so far. We revealed that the developmental pattern of IGF-I gene expression during embryogenesis differed among various tissues. No bands of IGF-I mRNA were detected in embryonic liver at 7 days of incubation, and thereafter the amount of hepatic IGF-I mRNA was increased from 14 to 20 days of incubation. In eyes, a peak in IGF-I mRNA levels occurred at mid-embryogenesis, but by contrast, IGF-I mRNA was barely detectable in the heart throughout all incubation periods. In the muscle, no significant difference in IGF-I gene expression was observed during different stages of embryogenesis. After hatching, hepatic IGF-I gene expression as well as plasma IGF-I concentration increases rapidly with age, reaches a peak before sexual maturity, and then declines. The IGF-I gene expression is very sensitive to changes in nutritional conditions. Food-restriction and fasting decreased hepatic IGF-I gene expression and refeeding restored IGF-I gene expression to the level of fed chickens. Dietary protein is also a very strong factor in changing hepatic IGF-I gene expression. Refeeding with dietary protein alone successfully restored hepatic IGF-I gene expression of fasted chickens to the level of fed controls. In most circumstances, IGF-I makes a complex with specific high-affinity IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs). So far, four different IGFBPs have been identified in avian species and the major IGFBP in chicken plasma has been reported to be IGFBP-2. We studied the relationship between nutritional status and IGFBP-2 gene expression in various tissues of young chickens. In the liver of fed chickens, almost no IGFBP-2 mRNA was detected. However, fasting markedly increased hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression, and the level was reduced after refeeding. In the gizzard of well-fed young chickens, IGFBP-2 gene expression was detected and fasting significantly elevated gizzard IGFBP-2 mRNA levels to about double that of fed controls. After refeeding, gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression decreased similar to hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression. In the brain, IGFBP-2 mRNA was observed in fed chickens and had significantly decreased by fasting. In the kidney, IGFBP-2 gene expression was observed but not influenced by fasting and refeeding. Recently, we have demonstrated in vivo that gizzard and hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression in fasted chickens was rapidly reduced by intravenous administration of insulin, as indicated that in young chickens the reduction in gizzard and hepatic IGFBP-2 gene expression in vivo stimulated by malnutrition may be, in part, regulated by means of the increase in plasma insulin concentration via an insulin-response element. The influence of dietary protein source (isolated soybean protein vs. casein) and the supplementation of essential amino acids on gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression was examined. In both soybean protein and casein diet groups, the deficiency of essential amino acids stimulated chickens to increase gizzard IGFBP-2 gene expression. Although amino acid supplementation of a soybean protein diet significantly decreased gizzard IGFBP-2 mRNA levels, a similar reduction was not observed in chickens fed a casein diet supplemented with amino acids. This overview of nutritional regulation of IGF-I and IGFBP-2 gene expression in young chickens would serve for the establishment of the supply of nutrients to diets to improve poultry production.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 2002

Background : The effects of chemotherapy on pulmonary function are mainly a reduced diffusion capacity and a restrictive ventilatory impairment. Exercise can expose cardiovascular and pulmonary abnormalities not evident at rest. Exercise related cardiopulmonary function is important in patients with malignant disease as a determinant of quality of life. We performed this study to evaluate the changes of body composition and cadiopulmonary exercise perfoemance of patients with locally advanced, non-small cell, lung cancer (NSCLC) before and after chemotherapy. Methods : We evaluated resting pulmonary function, body composition, physiologic performance status, and cardiopulmonary exercise function in 11 patients with locally advanced NSCLC, at diagnosis and prior to the fourth cycle of chemotherapy. Results : After chemotherapy, 4 patients (36.4%) showed partial response and 7 (63.4%) had stable disease. After chemotherapy, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was reduced ($89.7{\pm}34.1%$, vs. $71.9{\pm}20.5%$) but not significantly. There were no significant changes in body composition or the state of physiologic performance after chemotherapy. There was a significant impairment of cardiopulmonary exercise tolerance in patients with NSCLC, evidenced by a reduction of maximal oxygen uptake ($VO_2$max, ml/kg/min, $17.9{\pm}2.6$ : $12.6{\pm}6.1$, <0.05) and $O_2$pulse ($O_2$ pulse, ml/beat, $7.0{\pm}1.7$, $5.2{\pm}2.1$, <0.05). Conclusion : Systemic chemotherapy resulted in a loss of cardiopulmonary exercise function in patients with locally advanced NSCLC within the short-term period, but not a physiologic change of body composition within the same period.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.36-48
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• 2015

To complete various types of finish works with higher quality in much less time, TACT, which was mostly used for high-rise buildings, has been adapted to meet the needs for systematic schedule management in construction sites. However, the effectiveness of adapting TACT has not been shown as expected due to the different perspectives on productivity from both general contractor and subcontractors based on unforeseen conditions according to the types of site. Furthermore, not enough theoretical backgrounds, empirical data, and systematic approaches to solve the fundamental problems caused by each participants' different views on productivity has produced obstacles for establishing effective solutions. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the possible main reasons for having different point of views regarding productivity among various participants of residential building sites using TACT based on literature review, site survey, and interviews. Also, case study was conducted to propose obtainable productivity (OP) regression equation and productivity achievement ratio (PAR) with reduction factors (RFs) and actual productivity (AP) data from an actual construction site. The proposed outcome may assist general contractors converting output management with PPC to productivity management with actual data using PAR. On the other hand, subcontractors would be able to estimate theory-based maximum productivity of construction sites with TACT by using OP. The PAR will enhance the communication between general and sub-contractors for their decision making process. Finally, the main RFs derived from PAR could be used as essential keys for productivity management to increase the economical and operational effectiveness of the construction project.