• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2023

Objective: To evaluate and compare a series of volume changes in the nasal cavity (NC), nasopharynx, oropharynx, and maxillary sinuses (MS) in growing Class III patients after either rapid palatal expansion (RPE) or alternate rapid maxillary expansion and constriction (Alt-RAMEC) followed by facemask (FM) therapy, by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: Forty growing Class III patients were retrospectively selected and divided into two matched groups: RPE/FM (14 females, 6 males; mean age, 9.66 ± 1.23 years) and Alt-RAMEC/FM groups (14 females, 6 males; mean age, 10.28 ± 1.45 years). The anteroposterior and vertical displacements of Point A, the volumes of the NC, nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, and MS were measured at different time points: pretreatment (T1), postexpansion (T2), and postprotraction (T3). Results: Both groups demonstrated significant maxilla advancement (by 1.3 mm) during expansion, with a statistically significant intergroup difference during protraction (RPE/FM, 1.1 mm; Alt-RAMEC/FM, 2.4 mm; p < 0.05) and throughout the treatment (RPE/FM, 2.4 mm; Alt-RAMEC/FM, 3.7 mm; p < 0.05). NC and nasopharyngeal airway volumes increased significantly in both groups after expansion, protraction, and treatment. The oropharyngeal and MS volumes increased in both groups after protraction and post-treatment. However, no volumetric differences were observed between the two groups. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in airway volume changes, including NC, nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal airway, and MS, between RPE/FM and Alt-RAMEC/FM groups at different time points. Although there was significantly more forward movement after protraction in the Alt-RAMEC/FM group, the difference was deemed too small to be clinically relevant.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.289-295
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• 2011

Biomaterials for retinal tissue engineering must demonstrate several critical features for potential utility, including mechanical integrity, biocompatibility, and slow biodegradation. Silk film biomaterials were designed and characterized to meet these functional requirements. We prepared natural/synthetic hybrid silk/PLGA films using 0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 wt% of silk by a solvent evaporation method. MIT assay was used to confirm the number of cells attached on film at 1, 2, and 3 days, respectively. The morphology of cellular adhesion on films was also confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). RT-PCR was conducted to confrrm mRNA expression of retinal pigment epithelitun (RPE) using RPE65 as a RPEs marker and the expression of cytokeratin were determined by immunofluorescence staining. We confirmed that the silk/PLGA film of 20~40 wt% silk was superior for the adhesion and proliferation of RPEs.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.430-432
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• 2002

The changes in expression of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in light-damaged rat retinas were examined. Sprague-Dawley rats (male, 6-weeks-old) were maintained on a cyclic photoperiod (12 hours light and 12 hours darkness) for 2 weeks. The illumination intensity during the light period was 80 lux. To induce light damage to the retina, a high-intensity illumination (3000-lux) was applied to the animals for 24 hours. After light exposure, the animals were returned to cyclic lighting. Eyes were enucleated 12 and 24 hours after light exposure started or 1,3, and 7 days after light exposure ended. Eyes were fixed and embedded in paraffin wax. Tissues were cut into 4${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$-thick sections. Sections were immunostained using antibody against CuZn-SOD, Mn-SOD, GPX and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanocine (8-OHdG) as oxidative stress marker. 8-OHdG was observed in the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) during light exposure. In light-damaged retinas CuZn-SOD labeling was up regulated in the ONL and RPE. Mn-SOD labeling was up regulated in rod inner segments (RIS) during light exposure and that in the RPE was up regulated after exposure. GPX labeling was observed in rod outer segments (ROS) during light exposure. GPX labeling was also observed in the RPE during and after light exposure. All three enzymes were observed in the outer retina, which suffered light damage, but occurred in defferent layers except within the RPE, in which case all three were expressed. These enzymes may play complementary roles as protective factors in light-damaged retinas.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.591-597
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• 2004

In this study, sixty chemicals including 47 pesticides were screened for estrogenic activity using E-screen assay. MCF-7 cell, used in E-screen assay, is known to be proliferated by addition of estrogenic chemicals. Eight of the measured pesticides showed estrogenic activity at the concentration range of 100-10,000nM. Their relative proliferative effect (RPE) and the relative proliferative potency (RPP) were 20-65% and 0.01-1.0%, respectively, when compared with 1.0nM of $\beta-Estradiol-17-acetate(E_{2}).$ DDVP and diazinone showed most strong estrogenic potency(RPP; 1.0%) and effect(RPE; 65%) of the eight pesticides. These results are in agreement with estrogenic activity of bisphenol A is known as a positive endocrine disrupter. Also, in this study, paraquat, DDVP, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and diazinon of the measured pesticides are estimated to estrogenic chemical.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.189-193
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• 2003

A new algorithm is presented for adaptive notch filtering of narrow band or sine signals for embedded among broad band noise. The notch filter is implemented as a constrained infinite impulse response filter with a minimal number of parameters, Based on the recursive prediction error (RPE) method, the algorithm has the advantages of the fast convergence, accurate results and initial estimate of filter coefficient and its covariance is revealed. A convergence criterion is also developed. By using the information of the noise-to-signal power, the algorithm can self-adjust its initial filter coefficient estimate and its covariance to ensure convergence.

• Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1995.06a
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• pp.141-145
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• 1995

Code excited linear prediction speech coders exhibit good performance at data rates as low as 4800 bps. The major drawback to CELP type coders is their large computational requirements. In this paper, we propose a new codebook search method that preserves the quality of the CELP vocoder with reduced complexity. The basic idea is to restrict the searching range of the random codebook by using a searching technique of the regular pulse excitation. Applying the proposed method to the CELP vocoder, we can get approximately 48% complexity reduction in the codebook search.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1149-1153
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• 1997

Unilateral reexpansion pulmonary edema(RPE) is generally considered a rare complication occurring when a chronically atelectatic lung is rapidly reexpanded by tube thoracostomy or thoracentesis. It can also take place when the lung collapse is of short duration or when the lung is reexpanded without intrapleural sucti n. We experienced a case of RPE following surgical resection in mediastinal thymic cyst A 26 year old female patient suffered from long-standing atelectasis of the right lung due to a huge mediastinal cyst that was misrecognized as tuberculous pleural effusion. Empyema developed after iatrogenic rupture of mediastinal cyst by pig-tailed tube thoracostomy. We successfally managed the ruptured mediastinal thymic cyst, empyema and postoperatively developed RPE following reexpansion of the collapsed lung. The patient was treated with drugs and mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure for RPE. The remainder of her hospital course was uneventful.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.9
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• pp.525-530
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• 2015

Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a pathogenic role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and is thus a potential target for the development of therapeutics for this disease. Here, we demonstrated that Wnt5a antagonized β-catenin response transcription (CRT) induced with Wnt3a by promoting β-catenin phosphorylation at Ser33/Ser37/Thr41 and its subsequent degradation in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Wnt5a decreased the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which was up-regulated by Wnt3a. Furthermore, Wnt5a increased E-cadherin expression and decreased cell migration by down-regulating Snail expression, thereby abrogating the Wnt3a-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human RPE cells. Our findings suggest that Wnt5a suppresses the pathogenic effects of canonical Wnt signaling in human RPE cells by promoting β-catenin phosphorylation and degradation. Therefore, Wnt5a has significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of AMD. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(9): 525-530]

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.267-268
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• 2002

A vertebrate retina is an organ belonging to the central nerve system (CNS), and is usually difficult to regenerate except at an embryonic stage in life. However, certain species of urodele amphibians, such as newts and salamanders, possess the ability to regenerate a functional retina from retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells even as adults. After surgical removal of neural retinas from adult newt eyes, the remaining RPE cells lose their pigment granules, transdifferentiate into retinal progenitor cells, which further differentiate into various retinal neurons, and then finally reform a functional neural network. To understand the molecular mechanisms of CNS regeneration, we attempted to investigate the genes expressing in regenerating newt retina. mRNAs were isolated from regenerating retinas at 18-19 days after the surgical removal of the normal retina, and a cDNA library (regenerating retinal cDNA library) were constructed. Our EST analysis of 112 clones in the regenerating cDNA library revealed that about 70% clones are closely related to the genes previously identified. About 40% clones are housekeeping genes, and about 15% clones encode proteins related to the regulation of gene expression and to the proliferation of the cells. Sequences similar to neural retina- and RPE-specific genes were not detected at all. These results led us to suppose that the regenerating retinal cells are in a state considerably different from those of neither neural retina nor RPE cells.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.420-429
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• 2023

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in elderly individuals. However, the currently used intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor are invasive, and repetitive injections are also accompanied by a risk of intraocular infection. The pathogenic mechanism of AMD is still not completely understood, but a multifactorial mechanism that combines genetic predisposition and environmental factors, including cellular senescence, has been suggested. Cellular senescence refers to the accumulation of cells that stop dividing due to the presence of free radicals and DNA damage. Characteristics of senescent cells include nuclear hypertrophy, increased levels of cell cycle inhibitors such as p16 and p21, and resistance to apoptosis. Senolytic drugs remove senescent cells by targeting the main characteristics of these cells. One of the senolytic drugs, ABT-263, which inhibits the antiapoptotic functions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, may be a new treatment for AMD patients because it targets senescent retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. We proved that it selectively kills doxorubicin (Dox)-induced senescent ARPE-19 cells by activating apoptosis. By removing senescent cells, the expression of inflammatory cytokines was reduced, and the proliferation of the remaining cells was increased. When ABT-263 was orally administered to the mouse model of senescent RPE cells induced by Dox, we confirmed that senescent RPE cells were selectively removed and retinal degeneration was alleviated. Therefore, we suggest that ABT-263, which removes senescent RPE cells through its senolytic effect, has the potential to be the first orally administered senolytic drug for the treatment of AMD.