• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.160-166
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• 2016

To provide a basis for a homogeneous fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) immunoassay for celiac disease, we carried out a FRET experiment using guinea pig tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and antibodies to tTG (anti-tTG) purified from rat serum. Fluorescein was utilized as the probe, and a nonfluorescent dye, QSY 7 served as the quencher. We labeled anti-tTG and tTG with fluorescein isothiocyanate and QSY 7 succinimidyl ester, respectively. Fluorescein-labeled anti-tTG was the donor, and QSY 7-labeled tTG was the acceptor of the FRET experiment. When we titrated fluorescein-labeled anti-tTG with QSY 7-labeled tTG, we observed a large decrease in the steady-state fluorescence intensity, which was due to strong FRET from fluorescein-labeled anti-tTG to QSY 7-labeled tTG. Using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, we could also observe a decrease in the fluorescence lifetime, which confirms the steady-state data. We expect that these results might be useful in the development of a novel fluorescence immunoassay for an easy screening and follow-up of celiac patients.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.67-74
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• 2017

An increase in speech intelligibility has been found in Clear Speech compared to conversational speech. Clear Speech is defined by decreased articulation rates and increased frequency and length of pauses. The objective of the present study was to investigate improvement in immediate speech intelligibility in 10 patients with Parkinson's disease (age range: 46 to 75 years) using Clear Speech. This experiment has been performed using the Phonatory Aerodynamic System 6600 after the participants read the first sentence of a Sanchaek passage and the "List for Adults 1" in the Sentence Recognition Test (SRT) using casual speech and Clear Speech. Acoustic and aerodynamic parameters that affect speech intelligibility were measured, including mean F0, F0 range, intensity, speaking rate, mean airflow rate, and respiratory rate. In the Sanchaek passage, use of Clear Speech resulted in significant differences in mean F0, F0 range, speaking rate, and respiratory rate, compared with the use of casual speech. In the SRT list, significant differences were seen in mean F0, F0 range, and speaking rate. Based on these findings, it is claimed that speech intelligibility can be affected by adjusting breathing and tone in Clear Speech. Future studies should identify the benefits of Clear Speech through auditory-perceptual studies and evaluate programs that use Clear Speech to increase intelligibility.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.40-51
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• 2006

Purpose: A personal computer-based system was developed for automated metabolic profiling of organic aciduria and aminoacidopathy by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and data interpretation for the diagnosis of metabolic disorders Methods: For automatic data profiling and interpretation, we compiled retention time, two target ions and their intensity ratio for 77 organic acids and 13 amino acids metabolites. Metabolites above the cut-off values were flagged as abnormal compounds. The data interpretation was a based on combination of flagged metabolites. Diagnostic or index metabolites were categorized into three groups, "and", "or" and "NO" compiled for each disorder to improve the specificity of the diagnosis. Groups "and" and "or" comprised essential and optional compounds, respectively, to reach a specific diagnosis. Group "NO" comprised metabolites that must be absent to make a definite diagnosis. We tested this system by analyzing patients with confirmed Propionic aciduria and others. Results: In all cases, the diagnostic metabolites were identified and correct diagnosis was founded to be made among the possible disease suggested by the system. Conclusion: The study showed that the developed method could be the method of choices in rapid, sensitive and simultaneous screening for organic aciduria and amino acidopathy with this simplified automated system.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.196-207
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• 2021

Over the last few decades, the rates of pediatric obesity have more than doubled regardless of sociodemographic categorization, and despite these rates plateauing in recent years there continues to be an increase in the severity of obesity in children and adolescents. This review will discuss the pediatric obesity mediated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as attenuated levels of satiety and energy metabolism hormones, insulin resistance, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and arterial stiffness. Additionally, early intervention to combat pediatric obesity is critical as obesity has been suggested to track into adulthood, and these obese children and adolescents are at an increased risk of early mortality. Current suggested strategies to combat pediatric obesity are modifying diet, limiting sedentary behavior, and increasing physical activity. The effects of exercise intervention on metabolic hormones such as leptin and adiponectin, insulin sensitivity/resistance, and body fat in obese children and adolescents will be discussed along with the exercise modality, intensity, and duration. Specifically, this review will focus on the differential effects of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and combined exercise on the cardiovascular risks in pediatric obesity. This review outlines the evidence that exercise intervention is a beneficial therapeutic strategy to reduce the risk factors for CVD and the ideal exercise prescription to combat pediatric obesity should contain both muscle strengthening and aerobic components with an emphasis on fat mass reduction and long-term adherence.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyze each country's infectious disease response capacities and, based on this, find areas for improvement in Korea's infectious disease management response. Methods: First, the capacity to respond to the COVID-19 infectious disease was analyzed by country using the SPAR scores of 96 countries around the world released by WHO in 2022. Second, we analyzed each country's specific COVID-19 quarantine performance using Our World in Data and the Global Health Security Index (GHSI). Results: First, the quarantine intensity index on January 24, 2021 was the highest in the Southeast Asia branch at 67.6, which had strong quarantine measures, and the lowest at 44.5 in the Africa branch. As of December 31, 2022, the quarantine intensity index in Europe was significantly lowered to 11.6. Second, the factor that influenced the SPAR indicator on the total number of patients per million population was national laboratory (C4), p=.027, and the factor that influenced the total number of deaths per million population was infection prevention and control (C9), p=.005., Risk Communication and Community Participation (C10) p=.040. The influential factor on GDP per capita was infection prevention and control (C9) p=.009, and the influential factor on GHSI was infection prevention and control (C9) p=.002. Conclusion: The research findings indicate that it was difficult to find a correlation between the SPAR, which is each country's self-assessment of their infectious disease capacities, and the number of COVID-19 cases or the intensity of pandemic responses. However, mortality rates, as well as factors such as the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) and national income, appear to be somewhat influenced. For future improvements in infectious disease management and response in our country, it is necessary to develop pandemic strategies that can reduce socio-economic costs based on more scientific and reliable data like JEE or GHSI, especially in preparation for potential unknown emerging infectious diseases. Based on this, proactive decision-making led by a control tower of experts and effective health communication are also required to respond to public health crises at a national level.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1219-1229
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to describe and understand how diabetics dealt with the result of the various changes of lifestyle. The grounded theory approach of qualitative research methods was used for building a substantive theory about that. The subjects of this study were 10 clients who experienced diabetes from 4 to 30 years. The data was collected from August 1999 to November 1999 through in-depth interviews utilizing home visitation and telephone interview technique then it was and analyzed simultaneously by a constant comparative method in which the new data was continuously coded into categories and properties according to Strauss & Corbin,s methodology. One hundred six concepts were found and they were grouped into 35 categories and then into 14 categories. The results were as follows difficulty, unable to overcome the changes, disposition, disease process, tiredness, supportive environment, perception, handling, concent- ration, mastering, endurance, avoidance, giving up and tailoring. The core phenomenon was 'tiredness' and these categories were synthesized into one core concept, the process of tailoring. The process of tailoring in diabetics consisted of : 1) going through difficulty of disease management 2) experiencing tiredness from the difficulty of disease management 3) perception of disease from tiredness 4) undergoing various self-management 5) controlling the process of tailoring by one's own method. Six hypotheses were derived from the relation of these concepts and four types were from intensity of tiredness, direction of disposition, type of disease process and the level of supportive environment and perception. This study offers better understanding on diabetic experiences and may facilitate more appropriate interventive strategies to provide support, information and knowledge. The nurses should utilize the results to help diabetics enjoy their lives without any trouble and must continuously develop nursing knowledges and skills.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.192-199
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• 2015

Background: Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent among firefighters in some developed countries. It is unclear whether physical activity and cardiopulmonary fitness reduce cardiovascular disease risk and the cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters. The present study investigated the relationship between leisure-time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters in Hong Kong. Methods: Male firefighters (n = 387) were randomly selected from serving firefighters in Hong Kong (n = 5,370) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, known cardiovascular diseases). One-third (Target Group) were randomly selected for the assessment of off-duty leisure-time physical activity using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maximal oxygen uptake was assessed, as well as cardiovascular workload using heart rate monitoring for each firefighter for four "normal" 24-hour working shifts and during real-situation simulated scenarios. Results: Overall, 33.9% of the firefighters had at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Target Group, firefighters who had higher leisure-time physical activity had a lower resting heart rate and a lower average working heart rate, and spent a smaller proportion of time working at a moderate-intensity cardiovascular workload. Firefighters who had moderate aerobic fitness and high leisure-time physical activity had a lower peak working heart rate during the mountain rescue scenario compared with firefighters who had low leisure-time physical activities. Conclusion: Leisure-time physical activity conferred significant benefits during job tasks of moderate cardiovascular workload in firefighters in Hong Kong.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2001

The pathophysiology of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is not fully understood, but recent studies have disclosed that neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) play important roles in the formation of aganglionic bowel of Hirschsprung's disease. To evaluate the roles of NCAM and GDNF in HD, immunohistochemical analysis was performed using formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections. On the basis of the results, we tried to evaluate them as diagnostic markers. The specimens were obtained from 7 patients with HD who underwent modified Duhamel operation. The diagnosis was based on the clinical findings and the absence of ganglion cells in the nerve plexuses by routine microscopy. NCAM immunoreactivity was found in the nerve plexuses and scattered nerve fibers in the smooth muscle layers of ganglionic segments. In aganglionic segments, the number of NCAM positive nerve fibers in the smooth muscle layers was significantly reduced compared with ganglionic segments. In two cases the nerve plexuses in aganglionic segments, NCAM was negligible. The smooth muscle cells showed diffuse immunoreactivity for GDNF and the staining intensity was not different in the aganglionic and ganglionic segments. However, higher expression of GDNF in the nerve plexus of the ganglionic segments was noted comparing to aganglionic segments. These data suggest that both NCAM and GDNF may play important roles in pathogenesis of Hirschsprung's disease and immunohistochemical staining for NCAM can be used as an ancillary diagnostic tool for HD.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.295-305
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• 2021

Purpose: Hepcidin levels have previously been reported to be correlated with liver damage. However, the association between hepcidin levels and liver fibrosis in children with fatty liver disease remains unclear. This study therefore aimed to investigate the pathophysiology of fibrosis in children with fatty liver disease and its association with hepcidin levels. Methods: This retrospective case series included 12 boys aged 6-17 years who were diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital. Sixteen liver biopsy samples from 12 subjects were analyzed. Serum hepcidin levels were assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunostaining for hepcidin was performed, and the samples were stratified by staining intensity. Results: Serum hepcidin levels were higher in pediatric NAFLD/NASH patients than in controls. Conversely, a significant inverse correlation was observed between hepcidin immunostaining and Brunt grade scores and between hepcidin scores and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, hyaluronic acid, and leukocyte levels. We observed inverse correlations with a high correlation coefficient of >0.4 between hepcidin immunostaining and aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total bile acid, and platelet count. Conclusion: There was a significant inverse correlation between hepcidin immunoreactivity and fibrosis in pediatric NAFLD patients; however, serum hepcidin levels were significantly higher, suggesting that these patients experienced a reduction in the hepcidin-producing ability of the liver in response to iron levels, leading to subsequent fibrosis. Therefore, hepcidin levels can be used as markers to identify the progression of fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1975

The boundary has been one of the most important information in radiographic images and the degrees of difficulty involved varies greatly with the quality of the picture. These Buantifications are the means to diagnoses. The purpose of this paper is to quantify intensity variation and the threshold decision which is based on statistical principles and is developed to detect limits in liver scintigrams the entire picture is devide4 into 64 small regions. The kurtosis and variances for each smal region are used as indications to select the histograms the thresholds are computed according to the method o(maximum likelihood which minimizes the probability o( misclassification. Therefore Ive have demonstrated the applicability of the boundary detection and proved good agreement with human recognition, and we can use it for the diagnosis data of liver disease.