• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.254-264
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• 2019

Atherosclerosis is a widespread and chronic progressive arterial disease that has been regarded as one of the major causes of death worldwide. It is caused by the deposition of cholesterol, fats, and other substances in the tunica intima which leads to narrowing of the blood vessels, loss of elasticity, and arterial wall thickening, thus causing difficulty in blood flow. Natural products have been used as one of the most important strategies for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases for a long time. In recent decades, as interests in natural products including medicinal herbs have increased, many studies regarding natural compounds that are effective against atherosclerosis have been conducted. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview of the natural compounds that have been used for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis, and their mechanisms of action based on recent research.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Computer Information Conference
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• 2019.01a
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• pp.397-398
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• 2019

망막혈관 영상에서(retinal image) 혈관의 모양 또는 생성변화를 효과적으로 검진하기 위해서 망막혈관을 자동적으로 분리하는 영상분할 기법의 개발은 매우 중요한 사안이다. 이를 위해서 주로 망막혈관영상의 잡음을 억제하고 또한 혈관의 명암대비도(contrast)를 증가시키는 전처리 과정을 거쳐서 혈관의 국부적인 화소값의 변화, 방향성을 판별하여 혈관을 자동적으로 검출하는 방법들이 제시되어왔으며 최근에는 합성곱 신경망(CNN) 딥러닝 학습모델을 활용한 망막혈관 분리 알고리즘들이 제시되고 있다.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2023

A large abdominal mass was incidentally found in a 13-year-old mixed-breed dog and was confirmed to be a cecal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Contrast-enhanced ultrasound and post-contrast computed tomography (CT) showed mild contrast enhancement of the mass, indicating low blood flow. The tumor origin was determined to be the cecum by identifying the vessels supplying the mass on post-contrast CT. The exophytic growth of the tumor left the cecal lumen intact without obstruction. This report described the CEUS and CT perfusion of the cecal GIST and perfusion evaluation can help diagnose and characterize GISTs in dogs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 1971

Studies were undertaken on the changes in the renal blood flow by relating them with the alterations in the amplitudes in the rheogram of rabbits. The changing pattern of the electrical conductivity was recorded by means of the needle electrodes inserted into the kidney and the surrounding aluminium foil which was grounded. The Impedance Rheograph manufactured by the Narco Company was used. The small artifact which persisted after ligation of the renal vessels was subtracted from the value obtained in each pulsatile wave in the rheogram. The animals were nembutalized intravenously, 30 mg/kg. A plastic canule was inserted into the carotid artery and the arterial blood pressure was monitored continuously with the pressure transducer connected to the physiograph. Stepwise bleedings were performed on the animal. The first bleeding was between 13 to 18 ml in the amount, and it was folowed by consecutive hemorrhages, 5 or 10 ml each time. The total amount of bleeding was summed as much as 1.5-2% of the body weight. Two minutes fter each bleeding th arterial blood pressure, ECG and the rheogram were taken. That was the necessary time to obtain the stabilized picture of each parameter. After closing the bleeding process, the shed blood was retransfused into the animal and the response in the renal blood flow was observed as well as the arterial blood pressure. Particularly the presence or absence of the autoregulatory mechanism in the situation of the hemorrhage was also studied. The results obtained were as follows: 1. In 7 cases out of 22, that was about one third of the total number of experiments, the autoregulatory mechanism of the renal blood flow persisted even in acute hemorrhage, and the decreases in the renal blood flow were less than 10% of the control values even when the arterial blood pressure dropped to 66-87% of the original value obtained before the bleeding. 2. Because of the stepwise bleeding the exact blood pressure at which the renal blood flow reduced as much as one third of the control value could not be obtained. However, the results revealed that the approximate pressure, expressed as percentage of the control value, was 50-60% in 3 cases, 61-70% in 4 cases and 71-80% in 8 cases. In one case the decrease in the renal blood flow exceeded one third of the control value before the pressure dropped to 80% of the control. 3. In 19 cases the decreases in the renal blood flow exceeded one half of the control values by hemorrhage. Then the arterial blood pressure revealed less than 40% of the control value in 6-cases. In 2 cases the pressure was 51-60% of the control pressure. In 5 cases the range of bleed pressure was 61-70%, and in e remaining 6 cases the pressure ranged from 71 to 80% of e control value. 4. Out of 15 cases of retransfusion after definite decreases in the renal blood flow loller·ing the hemorrhage, 9 cases restored their renal blood flow. On the contrary 6 cases showed low values even when the shed blood was retransfused. 5. Theories concerning the mechanism of the autoregulation of the renal blood flow were reviewed for the purpose of explanation of the results obtained. However, there are much to be done before greater satisfaction

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.164-179
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• 2002

Object: Death rate due to hypertension, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and cerebral infarction induced by Westernized diet and increased average life span is on the rise. Decrease in blood circulation, activation of thrombus generation and intravascular lipid accumulation, cited as the principal causes of the above mentioned diseases in recent studies, result in circulatory disturbance and blood vessel obstruction leading to ischemic cell death of heart, brain and peripheral vessels. Method: We investigated the biochemical changes in microvascular permeability, aggregation of platelet and the intravascular lipid accumulation in induced-diabetic rat using Streptozotocin. We also studied the effects of Woohwangcheongsirn-won after oral administration on blood circulation, platelet function and lipid metabolism. The results are as follows: I. Woohwangcheongsim-won increased blood circulation in microvessels. 2. Woohwangcheongsim-won increased the reduced erythrocyte deformability in diabetes. 3. Woohwangcheongsim-won induced the reduction of contents of 2, 3-DPG, but failed to affect the reduced contents of ATP in erythrocyte in diabetes. 4. Woohwangcheongsim-won reduced the activity of Ca/sup 2+/-ATPase in the membrane of erythrocyte. 5. Woohwangcheongsim-won reduced the platelet aggregation evoked by platelet agglutinin factor. 6. Woohwangcheongsim-won reduced the production of platelet-derived granules. 7. Woohwangcheongsim-won reduced the production of metabolites of arachidonic acid in diabetes, and also reduced the production of increased thromboxane B2. 8. Woohwangcheongsim-won reduced the synthesis of oxidized LDL-cholesterol. In conclusion, Woohwangcheongsim-won enhanced blood circulation in microvesseles, erythrocyte deformability and inhibited the increased platelet aggregation and the synthesis of oxidized LDL-cholesterol in diabetes. Therefore Woohwangcheongsim-won is believed to positively affect blood circulation (J Korean Oriental Med 2002;23(2):164-179)

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2019

Monte Carlo simulations were performed for a three-dimensional tissue model with and without an embedded large vessel, to understand how varying vessel geometry affects surface light distribution. Vessel radius was varied from 1 to 5 mm, and vessel depth from 2 to 10 mm. A larger difference in surface fluence rate was observed when the vessel's radius increased. For vessel depth, the largest difference was seen at a depth of approximately 4 mm, corresponding to human wrist region. When the vessel was placed at depths greater than 8 mm, very little difference was observed. We also tested the feasibility of using two source-detector pairs, comprising two detectors distinctly spaced from a common source, to noninvasively measure blood-scattering changes in a large vessel. High sensitivity to blood-scattering changes was achieved by placing the near detector closer to the source and moving the far detector away from the source. However, at longer distances, increasing noise levels limited the sensitivity of the two-detector approach. Our results indicate that the approach using two source-detector pairs may have potential for quantitative measurement of scattering changes in the blood while targeting large vessels near the human wrist region.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.1105-1113
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• 2015

Bokbunja (Rubus coreanus) is a Korean fruit and wild black raspberry that has antioxidant, anticancer, and beauty effects due to its abundant polyphenols and anthocyanins. The purpose of this study was to investigate the blood flow improvement effect of Bokbunja seed oil (BSO) in a high-fat diet-fed mouse model. We examined improvement of blood flow and its related biomarkers in vivo. Mice were divided into four groups; Control, high fat diet control (negative control, HFD), salmon oil control (positive control, HFD+commercial n-3 fatty acid), and BSO experiment groups (HFD+2 g/2,000 kcal, HFD+4 g/2,000 kcal). After the mice were sacrificed, plasma triglyceride, cholesterol, and blood flow-related biomarkers (coagulation factor 7, 12, serotonin, TXB2, PT, and aPTT) were measured in mouse blood and organs. BSO reduced blood viscosity through improvement of blood lipids (cholesterol and plasma triglycerides) as well as levels of blood coagulation factors and blood platelet activity. BSO also delayed blood coagulation time. Thus, we confirmed that BSO inhibits excessive blood clotting of blood vessels and improves blood flow. Taken together, these results suggest that BSO decreases plasma triglycerides and cholesterol and improves blood flow by regulating biomarkers.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.361-369
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• 2017

Hemodynamic information in the carotid artery bifurcation is very important for understanding the development and progression mechanisms of cerebrovascular disease and for its early diagnosis and prediction of the progress. In this paper, we constructed a mock pulsatile blood circulation system using an anthropomorphic elastic vessel of the carotid artery bifurcation and ex vivo pig blood to acquire ultrasound images from blood and vessels synchronized with internal pressure while controlling the blood flow. Echogenicity, blood flow velocity, and blood vessel wall motion from the ultrasound images, and internal blood pressure were extracted over a cycle averaged from five cycles when the pulsatile pump rates are 20 r/min, 40 r/min, and 60 r/min. As a result, respectively, the peak systolic blood flow velocities were 20 cm/s, 25 cm/s, and 40 cm/s, the blood pressure differences were 30 mmHg, 70 mmHg, and 85 mmHg, the arterial walls were expanded to 0.05 mm, 0.15 mm, and 0.25 mm. Time-delayed cyclic variation of echogenicity compared to blood flow and pressure was observed, but the variation was minimal at 20 r/min. Time-synchronized cyclic variations of these parameters are important information for accurate input parameters and validation of the computational hemodynamic experiments which will provide useful information for the development and progress mechanisms of carotid artery stenosis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.194-201
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• 2017

Background Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains high concentrations of growth factors involved in wound healing. Hydrogel is a 3-dimensional, hydrophilic, high-molecular, reticular substance generally used as a dressing formulation to accelerate wound healing, and also used as a bio-applicable scaffold or vehicle. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PRP and hydrogel on wound healing, in combination and separately, in an animal wound model. Methods A total of 64 wounds, with 2 wounds on the back of each nude mouse, were classified into 4 groups: a control group, a hydrogel-only group, a PRP-only group, and a combined-treatment group. All mice were assessed for changes in wound size and photographed on scheduled dates. The number of blood vessels was measured in all specimens. Immunohistochemical staining was used for the analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Results Differences in the decrease and change in wound size in the combined-treatment group were more significant than those in the single-treatment groups on days 3, 5, 7, and 10. Analysis of the number of blood vessels through histological examination showed a pattern of increase over time that occurred in all groups, but the combined-treatment group exhibited the greatest increase on days 7 and 14. Immunohistochemical staining showed that VEGF expression in the combined-treatment group exhibited its highest value on day 7. Conclusions This experiment demonstrated improved wound healing using a PRP-hydrogel combined treatment compared to either treatment individually, resulting in a decrease in wound size and a shortening of the healing period.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.357-375
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of histochemical characteristics in inflammatory fibrous gingival hyperplasia (FGH), phenytoin-induced gingival hyperplasia(PIGH), idiopathic gingival hyperplasia(IDGH) and control groups (healthy and inflammatory gingiva) by immunohistochemical method with various antibodies and histomorphological analysis. In immunohistochemical finding, antibodies to inflammatory cells (T/B lymphocytes, macrophages, other monocytes), proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA), epidermal growth factor(EGF), factor VIII, and type I collagen were used. 1. The inflammatory infiltrates in FGH were less than those in inflammatory gingiva. The composition of inflammatory cells of PIGH was similar with that of FGH. IDGH showed a similar histologic findings with healthy gingival tissue. 2. In FGH, the number of fibroblasts and newly-formed collagen fibers was increased. No significant increase of fibroblasts and the dense accumulation of thick collagen fibers were seen in PIGH. The increase of fibroblasts and the dense accumulation of thick collagen were seen in IDGH. 3. PCNA-positive cells were localized mainly in the area accumulated with inflammatory cells and blood vessels, significantly increased in all hyperplastic tissue groups, and distributed evenly in IDGH. 4. The distribution of EGF were not observed in healthy gingiva but detected locally in area with confluent blood vessels,without significant difference between the other tissue groups. This results suggest that inflammation plays a significant role in inducing hyperplastic change of gingival tissue. While in DIGH, drug itself as well as inflammation seems to attribute to hyperplastic change.