• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.175-182
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• 2017

Microcurrent electrical stimulation(MES) has been used to accelerate recovery of atrophied skeletal muscle. However, convincing stimulation parameters for suppressing muscle atrophy due to injured sciatic nerve remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effective intensity of MES on restraining muscle atrophy with rat model underwent sciatic nerve injury(SNI). Twenty-5-week-old Sprague Dawley male rats were equally assigned to five groups : Control group(Control, CON, n = 4), Denervation group(Denervation, D, n = 4), Denervation with MES of $22{\mu}A$ group(Denervation + $22{\mu}A$, D+22, n = 4), Denervation with MES of $100{\mu}A$ group (Denervation + $100{\mu}A$, D+100 n = 4), Denervation with MES of $400{\mu}A$ group(Denervation + $400{\mu}A$, D+400, n = 4). To induce muscle atrophy, all rats in the D, D+22, D+100, and D+400 groups, were subjected to sciatic nerve injury on their right hindlimb and allowed to have 1 week of resting period. Following this period, rats underwent daily MES(60 min/ a day, 5times/1week) for 4 weeks. After that, we investigate morphological changes in muscle volume by using in vivo micro-computed tomography at week 0, 1, 3 and 5. After 5 weeks, the muscle volume had the highest value in D+400 group, and also noticeably increased in D+100 group compared to it in D group. The results of this study imply that MES with current intensities between $100-400{\mu}A$ can suppress muscle atrophy effectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Coal ashes generated from thermal power plants have been known as beneficial materials for agricultural use because of their nutrient elements. However, there is limitation to recycle them due to their alkalinity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness or safety of the coal ashes for their heavy metals on agricultural recycling when adjusted to pH of 5 with sulfuric acid. METHODS AND RESULTS: Concentration of hydrogen which is needed to adjust pH of coal ash was estimated by using a buffering curve and then the amount of sulfuric acid was changed by the estimation before incubation. Each of fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) was collected from both thermal plants of Yeongdong (YD) and Yeongheung (YH). The pH values of coal ashes increased to 4.76 (from 4.34) after incubation with sulfuric acid for 56 days, closer to the targeted pH. Coal ashes also increased the contents of available phosphorus by 2-fold (165 mg/kg) and 11-fold (1,137 mg/kg) for YDBA and YDFA, respectively, compared to the control. CONCLUSION: The utilization of coal ash with its acidity regulation would be very beneficial to agriculture sector and further suggest promising environmental safety against heavy metals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.611-617
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• 2009

This study was aimed at a genetic evaluation of Iranian Holstein cattle for milk and fat yields and calculating daughter yield deviation (DYD) of bulls. The data file that was used in this research included 367,943 first three lactation records of 186,064 Holstein cows which calved between 1983 and 2006 in 11,806 herd-year-season groups. The model included herd-year-season of calving and age at calving as fixed effects and animal and permanent environment as random effects. Mean breeding values of cows for each year were regressed on birth year to estimate genetic trends. Genetic trends in milk and fat yields were greater for cows born after 1997 (59.38 kg/yr and 1.11 kg/yr for milk yield and fat yield, respectively). Animal evaluations were partitioned into contribution from parent average, yield deviation (YD) and progeny. DYD of bulls was calculated as described by VanRaden and Wiggans (1991). DYD provides an indication of the performance of the daughters of a bull without consideration of his parents or sons. Variance of bull DYD was greater than variance of their predicted transmitting ability (PTA). Correlation of bull DYD and PTA was dependent on the number of daughters and when this increased, the correlation of DYD and PTA was increased. Also as lactation number of daughters increased, the correlation of bull DYD and PTA was increased.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2023

This research was conducted to investigate the comprehensive effects of methanol extract of Coptidis rhizoma (MECR) against oral pathogen. We studied the antibacterial, anti-biofilm, anti-gingipain and anti-inflammatory activity of MECR. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of MECR was 100 ㎍/mL against several oral pathogens. The formation of biofilm of Streptococcus mutans was reduced to 8.93~24.12% in the presence of 25 ㎍/mL of MECR. The gingipain activity of Porphyromonas gingivalis were reduced to 3.91~6.23% in case of Kgp and 5.73~7.78% in case of Rgp in the presence of 10 mg/mL of MECR. The expression of fadA mRNA, virulence factor of Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) was 3 folds decreased in the presence of 25 ㎍/mL of MECR. In case of YD-38 cells challenged with F. nucleatum, RQ values of IL-8 and IL-6 were reduced about 12 folds and 5.45 folds in the presence of 2 ㎍/mL of MECR. In case of RAW 264.7 murine cell challenged with F. nucleatum, RQ values of IL-1β and IL-6 were 2.52 folds and 2.55 folds reduced in the presences of 2 ㎍/mL of MECR. Conclusively, MECR showed potent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects against oral pathogenic bacteria.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.138-145
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• 2015

PURPOSE. The objective of this study was to conduct an in vitro comparative evaluation of polished and laser-dimpled titanium (Ti) surfaces to determine whether either surface has an advantage in promoting the attachment of epithelial-like cells and fibroblast to Ti. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Forty-eight coin-shaped samples of commercially pure, grade 4 Ti plates were used in this study. These discs were cleaned to a surface roughness (Ra: roughness centerline average) of 180 nm by polishing and were divided into three groups: SM (n=16) had no dimples and served as the control, SM15 (n=16) had $5-{\mu}m$ dimples at $10-{\mu}m$ intervals, and SM30 (n=16) had $5-{\mu}m$ dimples at $25-{\mu}m$ intervals in a $2{\times}4mm^2$ area at the center of the disc. Human gingival squamous cell carcinoma cells (YD-38) and human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) were cultured and used in cell proliferation assays, adhesion assays, immunofluorescent staining of adhesion proteins, and morphological analysis by SEM. The data were analyzed statistically to determine the significance of differences. RESULTS. The adhesion strength of epithelial cells was higher on Ti surfaces with $5-{\mu}m$ laser dimples than on polished Ti surfaces, while the adhesion of fibroblasts was not significantly changed by laser treatment of implant surfaces. However, epithelial cells and fibroblasts around the laser dimples appeared larger and showed increased expression of adhesion proteins. CONCLUSION. These findings demonstrate that laser dimpling may contribute to improving the peri-implant soft tissue barrier. This study provided helpful information for developing the transmucosal surface of the abutment.