• BMB Reports
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• 제56권7호
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• pp.398-403
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• 2023

Natural killer (NK) cells are an essential part of the innate immune system that helps control infections and tumors. Recent studies have shown that Vorinostat, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, can cause significant changes in gene expression and signaling pathways in NK cells. Since gene expression in eukaryotic cells is closely linked to the complex three-dimensional (3D) chromatin architecture, an integrative analysis of the transcriptome, histone profiling, chromatin accessibility, and 3D genome organization is needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how Vorinostat impacts transcription regulation of NK cells from a chromatin-based perspective. The results demonstrate that Vorinostat treatment reprograms the enhancer landscapes of the human NK-92 NK cell line while overall 3D genome organization remains largely stable. Moreover, we identified that the Vorinostat-induced RUNX3 acetylation is linked to the increased enhancer activity, leading to elevated expression of immune response-related genes via long-range enhancer-promoter chromatin interactions. In summary, these findings have important implications in the development of new therapies for cancer and immune-related diseases by shedding light on the mechanisms underlying Vorinostat's impact on transcriptional regulation in NK cells within the context of 3D enhancer network.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.259-264
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• 2021

Traditional epidemiological studies have identified a number of risk factors for various diseases using regression-based methods that examine the association between an exposure and an outcome (i.e., one-to-one correspondences). One of the major limitations of this approach is the "black-box" aspect of the analysis, in the sense that this approach cannot fully explain complex relationships such as biological pathways. With high-throughput data in current epidemiology, comprehensive analyses are needed. The network approach can help to integrate multi-omics data, visualize their interactions or relationships, and make inferences in the context of biological mechanisms. This review aims to introduce network analysis for systems epidemiology, its procedures, and how to interpret its findings.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.131-138
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• 2013

The skeletal muscle in our body is a major site for bioenergetics and metabolism during exercise. Carbohydrates and fats are the primary nutrients that provide the necessary energy required to maintain cellular activities during exercise. The metabolic responses to exercise in glucose and lipid regulation depend on the intensity and duration of exercise. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity, recent studies have focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Accumulation of intramyocellular lipid may lead to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. In addition, lipid intermediates (e.g., fatty acyl-coenzyme A, diacylglycerol, and ceramide) impair insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. Recently, emerging evidence linking obesity-induced insulin resistance to excessive lipid oxidation, mitochondrial overload, and mitochondrial oxidative stress have been provided with mitochondrial function. This review will provide a brief comprehensive summary on exercise and skeletal muscle metabolism, and discuss the potential mechanisms of obesity-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.205-226
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• 2021

Objectives: Biomonitoring programs have been widely implemented in the field of environmental health, both in Korea and worldwide. Recently, it has been suggested that the storage, management, and utilization of biosamples collected from biomonitoring programs should be organized based on a biobank system. Therefore, we attempted to review the current status of representative biomonitoring programs and biobank systems that have been implemented in Korea and in other countries. Methods: We searched for bio-samples collected in domestic and foreign biomonitoring programs and their applications. For this, we referred to research papers, homepages hosted by biomonitoring programs, and project reports. We also checked information for biobanks related with biomonitoring programs, including the operating systems, facilities, technologies, and regulations of biobanks. Results: We summarized six domestic and 32 foreign biomonitoring programs. These biomonitoring programs collected bio-samples to determine the relationship between environmental chemicals and diseases. Domestically, bio-samples from KoNEHS, KorSEP, MOCEH, KoCHENS, and KorEHS-C were stored at -80℃ in a deep freezer at the National Institute of Environmental Research, while KNHANES samples were stored at Korea Biobank, which has a stabilized biobanking system with a well-established database. Nine foreign biomonitoring programs (JECS, China-NHBP, CKB, CHMS, NHANES, GerES, Germaan ESB, MoBa, and UK Biobank) were ongoing for large populations. Among them, CKB, GermanESB, and UK biobank have been maintained for at least 10 years with their own biomonitoring programs as well as advanced systems for the safe storage of bio-samples. Conclusion: Currently on-going biobanks have devoted considerable efforts to managing bio-samples for public purposes. The preceding domestic and foreign biomonitoring programs and biobanks will be great references for constructing biobank facilities and systems for environmental public health in Korea in the future.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.60-66
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• 2014

Background: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUSs) are common in primary care. Atpresent, there are no proven, comprehensive treatments available in primary care forpatients with MUSs. However, MUS has parallels with "subhealth" or Mibyeong from tradi-tional East-Asian medicine, and thus, Mibyeong interventions could be effective in treatingMUS. Unfortunately, studies on Mibyeong and its intervention methods are relatively rare.Methods: We administered a web-based survey to 17,279 Korean medicine (KM) practitionersregistered with the Association of Korean Medicine. The response rate was 4.9% (n = 849).Based on the responses received, we assessed how much they agreed with concepts relatedto Mibyeong on a 7-point scale from "do not agree" to "strongly agree." Respondents werealso asked to indicate how frequently they encountered various subtypes and patterns ofMibyeong, and how frequently they use listed intervention methods.Results: Data from 818 respondents were analyzed after excluding those with no clinicalexperience. On average, respondents were male general practitioners aged between 30 yearsand 49 years, working or living in metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do. Responses did not differ by demographics. Respondents generally thought that Mibyeongreferred to subjective or borderline findings without certain disease, and that Mibyeong hasvarious subtypes and patterns. Subtypes included fatigue, pain, and digestion problems; pat-terns were either deficiencies (e.g., qi, blood, and yin deficiency) or stagnations (e.g., liver qidepression and qi stagnation). Decoction was the most frequently used type of interventionfor Mibyeong of all items listed, followed by acupuncture and moxibustion. Patient educa-tion was also recommended, suggesting healthy eating, promoting healthy environment,and exercise.Conclusion: We were able to provide preliminary results on KM practitioners' recognition ofand interventions for Mibyeong, but further research is needed to develop a detailed defi-nition of Mibyeong and its myriad subtypes and patterns, and evaluations of the efficacy ofMibyeong interventions.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.101-108
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• 2016

Purpose : The primary objective of this study was to examine the status of continuing education, and to identify the current state and employment status of these physical therapists. Moreover, the study also aimed to provide basic data for establishing improvement measures in various continuing education programs to enhance the quality of physical therapists, thereby providing high quality service to patients and contributing to the increasing productivity of hospitals. Method : The present study analyzed the basic data obtained from KPTA regarding the 671 physical therapists throughout Korea. Questionnaires were sent by mail to from direct visits were used in the final data analysis. The questionnaire consisted of 45 questions in 3 categories: general characteristics, continuing education. Collected data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Result : Subjects 88 (87.1%) indicated that they continuing education, showing that most had taken continuing education courses. The importance and necessity of continuing education was much higher for those with doctoral degrees than for those who graduated from college, or who possessed bachelors or master's degrees. Conclusion : A necessary follow-up study using these findings would contribute to providing a high quality medical service and to enhancing the quality of physical therapists. Moreover, systematic management of continuing education is necessary to devise comprehensive and effective measures for the development and acquisition of updated skills by health care professionals.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.159-166
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• 2021

Purpose : This study systematically assessed programs self-esteem programs for schizophrenic individuals that have been implemented over the past 10 years in South Korea, with the objective of providing clinical grounds and data for further programs that can be implemented in the Korean environment. Methods : For this study, a data search was conducted from 2012 to 2021, using search terms 'schizophrenia' AND 'self-esteem' among the studies registered in the RISS, KISS, Google Scholar, and National Library of Korea databases. A total of 988 studies were searched, and among them, 40 studies meeting the selection criteria had been taken by reviewing the titles and abstracts. After, 33 studies were excluded according to the exclusion criteria, and finally, the 7 studies were selected. Results : As a result, research into self-esteem programs for schizophrenic individuals has progressed steady, and most studies tend to be non-randomized controlled studies. All studies used the Self-Esteem Scale to evaluate self-esteem. All studies used the Self-Esteem Scale to evaluate self-esteem. The interventions of the selected studies were classified as were social skill programs, cognitive behavioral therapy programs, art therapy programs, and emotional management programs. And among them, the cognitive behavioral therapy programs were the most frequently used (42.8 %). Typically, the majority of the intervention sessions consisted of 11~15 sessions, the frequency of intervention was twice a week, and each session lasted 40~80 minutes were the most (each 57.1 %). In the programs for self-esteem, significant effects were reported for cognitive behavioral and art therapy programs, and there is no significant effect on social skill programs and emotional management programs. Conclusion : Future studies should expand the research scope, both domestically and internationally, and suggest more comprehensive conditions for a literature search by widening the research subject coverage.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.171-181
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• 2020

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of curl-up and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) neck flexion exercises on stroke patients' trunk muscle activity, ability to control the trunk, and balance by comparing two exercise methods. Methods : The study involved patients who had been diagnosed with stroke based on the results of computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging at O Hospital in Daegu, South Korea, between January and July 2020. In total, 30 subjects were selected and by flipping a coin, randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=15) that performed PNF neck flexion exercises and a control group (n=15) that performed curl-up exercises. Both groups received traditional rehabilitation therapy for 30 minutes a day five times a week for a six-week period. In addition, the experimental group performed PNF neck flexion exercises and the control group curl-up exercises for 15 minutes a day five times a week over the same period. The subjects' muscle activity in the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and internal oblique (IO) were measured before and after the experiment. The subjects' trunk impairment scale (TIS) and Berg balance scale (BBS) scores were also assessed. Paired t test was performed to measure the amount of statistical change before and after intervention in both groups. An independent sample T test was performed to measure the amount of statistical change between the two groups. Results : Both groups experienced statistically significant increases in their RA, IO and EO muscle activity, total TIS scores, and total BBS scores after the intervention. No statistically significant differences in the changes before and after the intervention were found for any of the resulting values between the two groups. Conclusion : A comprehensive review of the study's results suggested that neck flexion exercises using the PNF irradiation concept and curl-up exercise are effective in increasing stroke patients' abdominal muscle activity and improving trunk control ability and balance in chronic stroke patients.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.277-289
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• 2020

Purpose : This study aims to confirm the clinical usefulness of computerized cognitive therapy program for patients with brain diseases in Korea and to present basic data that can confirm the effectiveness of computerized cognitive therapy program to experts related to rehabilitation in the future. Methods : A systematic review and meta-analysis research method was used to confirm the clinical effectiveness of computerized cognitive therapy applied to patients with brain diseases in Korea. Based on the national institute of health and medical colleges association (NECA) systematic literature manual and preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for conducting research through systematic review and meta-analysis methods. Systematic review was PICOST-SD was used to research and select papers. For meta-analysis, the data was input and analyzed separately by literature result using the revman manager 5.3 program and the results were presented visually through tables and forest, funnel plot figure. Results : As a result of comprehensive analysis of the contents of the finally selected literature, it as found that studies on stroke and dementia were mainly conducted. In addition, through the evaluation of the quality of the literature, most of the existing computerized cognitive therapy studies were identified as high-quality studies, but the results were insufficient for randomization and blinding. And through meta-analysis, the clinical effectiveness of computerized cognitive therapy on cognitive function, activities of daily living, and visual perception function of patients with brain disease was found. Conclusion : The research literature that applied computerized cognitive therapy to brain disease subjects was comprehensively analyzed and identified. It is thought that this could be used as basic data on the characteristics of cognitive therapy that should be applied to patients with brain diseases in the future and the usefulness of computerized cognitive therapy program in actual clinical practice.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.173-181
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• 2021

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical effect, assessment, method, and recent trend of the programs by systematically reviewed community-based programs for the elderly's quality of life conducted in the last ten years, and to present comprehensive basic data for occupational therapists who want to apply community-based programs improving quality of life. Methods : This study identified 811 studies from among those registered in the RISS, KISS, DBpia, NDSL, and KCI databases from January to September 2020, using "elderly," "community elderly," "65 aged," "quality of life," "occupational therapy," "occupational therapy program," "intervention," and "intervention program" as keywords. From these results, 11 documents were selected. Results : It was found that studies of occupational therapy programs for the quality of life of the elderly have been continuously conducted since 2010, and most of them were non-random control studies. The quality of life evaluation tool used most frequently was SF-36, and WHOQOL-BREF and SF-8 were also used. The selected programs were classified as were exercise programs and complex programs. For most of the exercise programs, interventions were carried out for 12 weeks, three times a week for 30~60 minutes. In the case of the complex programs, the duration of interventions was nine weeks, and the frequency and time per session varied. All of the exercise programs showed significant effects. Among the complex programs, two studies showed significant effects, but the remaining one study did not. Conclusion : Through this study, the types and effects of occupational therapy programs for the quality of life of the elderly were examined. Hereafter, studies of the development and to verify the effects of these programs should be actively carried out.