• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1729-1739
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of fermented medicinal herbs. A search of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), PubMed databases and Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine in 2000-2011 located 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the clinical efficacy of fermented medicinal herbs. Domestic RCTs reported clinical efficacy on improvement of immune responses and clinical safety on usage of fermented medicinal herbs in subjects suffering from cerebral hemodynamics. Countries other than Chinareported studies on the cause of esophageal cancer and on local inflammatory reactions. In China, studies were reported on the effectiveness of fermented medicinal herbs on scapulohumeral periarthritis of the stasis type, chronic superficial gastritis, dysuria induced by benign prostatic hyperplasia of deficiency of kidney yang, diabetic nephropathy, essential hypertension, and benign prostate hyperplasia. These results indicate that fermented medicinal herbs have obvious clinical effects in some diseases and no adverse reactions. Therefore, we need to initiate more fermentation research with useful bacteria, fungi, and mushrooms to produce fermented medicinal herbs. Both governments and research authorities should focus on research involving fermentation of medicinal herbs.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.280-287
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was done to identify effects of lumbar curve support on back pain and comfort during bed rest after transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). Method: A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was used. All patients were diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia and underwent TURP. Twenty participants were assigned to the experimental group and twenty to the control group. After TURP, the lumbar curve of patients in the experimental group was supported using gel pads for 6 hours while the control group received the usual care with the both leg straight. The intensity of back pain and comfort levels were assessed on immediate return to the unit and for six hours following TURP. Bleeding complications were detected from hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. Results: Support of lumbar curve was found to be significantly effective in reducing back pain. the need for analgesics was significantly less in the experimental group. Comfort levels were not significantly different between the two groups. There were no bleeding complications in either group. Conclusion: These results suggest that supporting of lumbar curve ameliorates back pain without causing an increased incidence of bleeding complications after TURP and this nursing intervention should help TURP patients to be more comfortable.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.217-227
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• 2020

Trichomonas vaginalis causes inflammation of the prostate and has been detected in tissues of prostate cancers (PCa), prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Obesity is a risk factor for PCa and causes a chronic subclinical inflammation. This chronic inflammation further exacerbates adipose tissue inflammation as results of migration and activation of macrophages. Macrophages are the most abundant immune cells in the PCa microenvironment. M2 macrophages, known as Tumor-Associated Macrophages, are involved in increasing cancer malignancy. In this study, conditioned medium (TCM) of PCa cells infected with live trichomonads contained chemokines that stimulated migration of the mouse preadipocytes (3T3-L1 cells). Conditioned medium of adipocytes incubated with TCM (ATCM) contained Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-13). Macrophage migration was stimulated by ATCM. In macrophages treated with ATCM, expression of M2 markers increased, while M1 markers decreased. Therefore, it is suggested that ATCM induces polarization of M0 to M2 macrophages. In addition, conditioned medium from the macrophages incubated with ATCM stimulates the proliferation and invasiveness of PCa. Our findings suggest that interaction between inflamed PCa treated with T. vaginalis and adipocytes causes M2 macrophage polarization, so contributing to the progression of PCa.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.584-590
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• 2012

The structural and functional disorder of a detrusor induces a bladder hypertrophy and degenerates a bladder muscle gradually by preventing normal urination. Thus, the thickness of the bladder wall has been increased in proportion to the degree of bladder outlet obstruction. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of the detrusor is analyzed for the physical properties and the thickness changes of the bladder muscle using a mathematically analytic method. In order to obtain the mechanical property of the bladder muscle, the tensile test of porcine bladder tissue is performed because its property is similar to that of human. The result of tensile test is applied to the mathematically model as Mooney Rivlin coefficients which represent the hyperelastic material. The model of the bladder is defined as the spherical shape with the initial volume of 50ml. The principal stress and strain according to the thickness are analyzed. Also, computer simulations for three types of the material property for the model of the bladder are performed based on the fact that the stiffness of the bladder is weakened as the progress of the benign prostatic hyperplasia. As a result, the principal stress is 341kPa at the initial thickness of 2.2mm, and is 249kPa at 6.5mm. As the bladder wall thickness increases, the principal stress decreases. The principal stress and strain decrease as the stiffness of the bladder decreases under the same thinkness.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.153-166
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• 2013

Yang deficiency pattern is a representative syndrome differentiation. This article is a study on to which categories of modern diseases yang deficiency is assigned by reference to modern clinical papers and the meaning of yang deficiency interpreted with a perspective of Korean Medicine and a modern perspective. Yang deficiency, yang qi deficiency, lack of yang qi and yang qi debilitation are the words found in "Nei Ching" and yang qi can be interpreted as something to warm, drive and arouse. Zhangzhongjing considered recovery or loss of Yang as the key to life in "Shanghanlun". Danxi proposed "Yang being liable to hyperactivity, Yin being insufficient" and emphasized pathological ministerial fire of Yang exuberance rather than physiological ministerial fire of Yang deficiency. Zhangjingyue proposed "Yang not being in excess, Yin being often deficient" and understood growth and decline of yin qi are all led by yang qi and put emphasis on true yin in addition to yang qi. Diseases of yang deficiency pattern are related with decline of metabolic level, hypofunction of internal secretion, disorder of immune function, disorder of automatic nerve system, sympathetic nerve inhibition, metabolic disorder of microelements, increase of cGMP, change of microcirculation, low speed of blood stream, kidney malfunction. Diseases related with kidney are sterility, polycystic ovary syndrome, spinal stenosis, edema, renal failure, IgA nephropathy, erectile dysfunction, nephritis, prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, decrease of adrenal cortical hormone by nephrotic syndrome, myelodysplastic syndrome. Disease related with heart are heart failure, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, pulmonary heart disease. Diseases related with spleen are irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis. Diseases related with liver are hypothyroidism, liver cirrhosis ascites, hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis, hepatic diabetes. Diseases related with lung are allergic rhinitis, cough variant asthma, bronchial asthma, pulmonary emphysema. And diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, aplastic anemia, headache, encephalatrophy, Alzheimer's disease are also related with yang deficiency.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2515-2518
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• 2012

Aim: To study the causes and significance of both microscopic and macroscopic haematuria in adult patients and assess possible relevance to early detection of urological cancers. Methods: 417 patients presenting with haematuria were assessed in our Urology Unit. Following confirmation of haematuria, these patients were subjected to imaging techniques and flexible cystoscopy. Parameters analysed included clinical characteristics, imaging results, flexible cystoscopy findings, time delay to diagnoses and eventual treatment and final diagnoses of all cases. Results: 390 haematuria cases were analysed from 417 consecutive patients with haematuria. After 27 cases were excluded as they had previous history, 245 microscopic and 145 macroscopic. Age range was 17 to 95 years old with predominance of 152 females to 239 males. The racial distribution included 180 Chinese, 100 Indians,95 Malays and 15 other races. The final diagnoses were benign prostatic hyperplasia (22.6%), no cause found (22.3%), other causes (18.7%), urolithiasis (11.5%), urinary tract infection UTI (10.8%), non specific cystitis (10.3%), bladder tumours (2.8%) and other genitourinary tumours (1%). 11 new cases (2.8%) of bladder cancers were diagnosed, with a mean age of 59 years. Only 3 of 245 (1.2%) patients with microscopic haematuria had newly diagnosed bladder tumour compared with 8 of 145 (5.5%) patients with frank haematuria (p=0.016). Mean time taken from onset of symptoms to diagnosis of bladder cancer was 53.3 days with definitive treatment (TURBT) in 20.1 days from diagnosis. Conclusion:- This study has highlighted the common causes of haematuria in our local setting. We recommend that full and appropriate investigations be carried out on patients with frank haematuria especially those above 50 years old in order to provide earlier detection and prompt management of bladder diseases especially tumours.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.613-618
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• 2020

The surgical treatment of extensive urethral strictures remains a controversial topic; although techniques have evolved, there is still no definite method of choice. Since 1968, when Orandi presented an original technique for one-stage urethroplasty using a penile skin flap, the Orandi technique has become the most prevalently used one-stage procedure for anterior urethral strictures. We present a 20-year follow-up experience with one-stage reconstruction of long urethral strictures using a longitudinal ventral tubed flap of penile skin, with some important technical changes to Orandi's original technique to overcome the deficient vascularity caused by periurethral scar tissue. In 1997, a 55-year-old male patient complained of severe voiding difficulty and a weak urinary stream because of transurethral resection of the prostate due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Another 47-year-old male patient had the same problem due to self-removal of a Foley catheter in 2002. In both patients, a urethrogram demonstrated extensive strictures involving the long segment of the anterior urethra. A rectangular skin flap on the ventral surface of the penis was used considering the appropriate length, diameter, and depth of the neourethra. The modified Orandi flap provided a pedicled strip of penile skin measuring an average of 8 cm. The mean duration of follow-up was 20.5 years. A long-term evaluation revealed stable performance characteristics without any complications.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.423-431
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• 2009

Standard uroflowmetry measures the urine weight using single load cell to evaluate the urinary flow rate. Impact noise should be introduced due to gravity when the urine stream falls down into the container upon the load cell. The present study placed three load cells on the three vertices of a regular triangle and the three signals were ensemble averaged to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) regardless of how the urination was made. Simulated urination experiment was performed with three different urine collection methods. In all three methods, SNR of the averaged signal was much higher than each load cell signals. With no urine collection device, the present signal averaging technique resulted in SNR values higher by 10~15 dB than when dual funnels or upper funnel were used to guide the urine stream. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the three point measurement followed by with ensemble averaging could enable accurate uroflowmetric test without any specially made urine collection devices.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.71-79
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• 2020

We report 1 case about Yukmijihwang-tanggagambang that was considered by Sasang constitution that was used for an elderly Soyangin patient with acute urinary retention, lower urinary tract symptoms and other symptoms. We treated an elderly Soyangin patient who suffered from acute urinary retention, lower urinary tract symptoms and other symptoms, who had history of benign prostatic hyperplasia. We considered his Sasang constitution and prescribed Yukmijihwnag-tanggagambang mainly. The improvement of his symptoms were evaluated by presence of symptoms, times of urination and visual analogue scale. After treatment that was been Yukmijihwang-tanggagambang mainly, patient's symptoms were disappeared or improved. And there was not any adverse effect. This study shows that using Yukmijihwang-tanggagambang that was considered by Sasang constitution can be effective treatment for an elderly Soyangin patient's acute urinary retention, lower urinary tract symptoms and other symptoms.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.338-345
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• 2012

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is increasing in Korea owing to the westernized eating habits and changes in living environment. However, very few studies have been made to determine the standard value of the prostate volume as a diagnostic reference. Also, most of the previous studies have been focusing on the elder population over 40 years old. This study retrospectively analyzes the results of prostate volume measured by transrectal ultrasonography in the healthy Korean men in their 30's who visited our institution's center for health promotion for routine checkups. The mean age of the total of 157 men enrolled was $34.6{\pm}2.9$ years, and the mean prostate volume was $19.4{\pm}4.0ml$. Prostate volume of these men was correlates proportionally to their age, prostate specific antigen, body mass index, body surface area, and abdominal girth. Among these, the strongest correlation is between the prostate volume and the abdominal girth (r=0.317, p<0.001).