• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 1994

In the animal model of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by N-nitroso-N-methylurethane (NNNMU) the secretory activity of alveolar type H cells during acute alveolar injury was investigated by determining phospholipid and pulmonary surfactant associated proteins in crude surfactant. The mechanism of the secretory change was studied by determination of DNA and RNA levels in the lung tissue. After induction of acute alveolar injury with NNNMU, pulmonary hemorrhage, atelectasis and gross hypertrophy were observed. Seven days after NNNMU treatment the level of total DNA in lung homogenate was increased markedly indicating that a hypertrophy was induced by cellular proliferation. Although the total DNA level increased, the RNA/DNA ratio was gradually decreased after NNNMU treatment. Seven days after NNNMU treatment the RNA/DNA ratio returned to the normal control level. During the acute alveolar injury, phospholipid and surfactant associated proteins were reduced significantly as compared with the control, implying that the secretory activity of alveolar type II cells was altered during acute alveolar injury induced by NNNMU. The protein content in crude surfactant during peak injury(7 days after NNNMU) was decreased significantly but phospholipid/protein ratios were identical in both control and NNNMU treatment groups. SDS-PAGE of proteins in crude pulmonary surfactant showed a decrease in major surfactant associated protein(M.W. 38,000) during acute alveolar injury. The present study may suggest that while alveolar type H cells proliferate markedly, transcription of alveolar type ll cell gene was inhibited by an unknown mechanism such as DNA methylation induced by NNNMU. Such an inhibition of transcriptional activity is thought to be associated with the decreased secretory activity of alveolar type ll cells, which may lead to pulmonary atelectasis and edema during the acute alveolar injury.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.123-134
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• 1993

This study was deviced to apply fuzzy concepts to pavement serviceability evaluation. An evaluation model was developed based on workmanship of pavement during construction, external load on pavement and current distress level. Five rating fuzzy sets, three weight fuzzy sets were developed based on the concept that the most appropriate balance was achieved in Gd which was established for grading the fuzzy overall rating results. Evaluation criteria and corresponding fuzzy rating scale were suggested. A computer program for evaluating serviceability based on the criteria was developed. The program was operated by simply typing in input data on each question and producing output as Gd on the screen. lt was possible to estimate the pavement serviceability level well using this fuzzy-set-based approach.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1943-1948
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• 2014

Purpose: The prevalence of weight loss in esophageal carcinoma patients is high and associated with impairment of physical function, increased psychological distress and low quality of life. It is not known which factors may contribute to weight loss in patients with esophageal carcinoma during radiotherapy in China. The objective of this study was to identify the associated demographic and clinical factors influencing weight loss. Methods: We evaluated 159 esophageal carcinoma patients between August 2010 and August 2013 in a crosssectional, descriptive study. Patient characteristics, tumor and treatment details, psychological status, adverse effects, and dietary intake were evaluated at baseline and during radiotherapy. A multivariate logistic regression analyss was performed to identify the potential factors leading to weight loss. Results: 64 (40.3%) patients had weight loss ${\geq}5%$ during radiotherapy. According to logistic regression analysis, depression, esophagitis, and loss of appetite were adverse factors linked to weight loss. Dietary counseling, early stage disease and total energy intake ${\geq}1441.3$ (kcal/d) were protective factors. Conclusions It was found that dietary counseling, TNM stage, total energy intake, depression, esophagitis, and loss of appetite were the most important factors for weight loss. The results underline the importance of maintaining energy intake and providing dietary advice in EC patients during RT. At the same time, by identifying associated factors, medical staff can provide appropriate medical care to reduce weight loss. Further studies should determine the effect of these factors on weight loss and propose a predictive model.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.4 no.3 s.13
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• pp.1-13
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• 2002

Design methods for new flexible pavements and overlays are in the transition from empirical to mechanistic approach, and many state highway agencies trend to move toward the adoption and use of mechanistic-empirical (M-E) design in new constructions and rehabilitations of flexible pavements. Hence, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) decided to develop a M-E flexible pavement design procedure, in which major pavement distresses such as fatigue cracking and rutting are employed as indicators of the serviceability of a flexible pavement. The main concept of the developed design procedure is that a designed pavement that is supposed to carry a certain number of traffic must satisfy designated thresholds of rut depths and fatigue lives during a service period. For the M-E design procedure, transfer functions were developed to predict rut-depths and fatigue lives. These functions related the pavement responses to pavement performance. For validation, three current new flexible pavement design cases were obtained from the MDOT. In these cases, asphalt concrete (AC) layer thicknesses determined by the suggested M-E procedure compare favorably with those determined by the current MDOT design practice that is based on AASHTO design guide. This finding implies that the suggested Michigan M-E flexible pavement design procedure can provide a good opportunity to improve the current design practice.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2018

Acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common clinical syndrome of diffuse lung inflammation with high mortality rates and limited therapeutic methods. Diosmetin, an active component from Chinese herbs, has long been noticed because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diosmetin on LPS-induced ALI model and unveil the possible mechanisms. Our results revealed that pretreatment with diosmetin effectively alleviated lung histopathological changes, which were further evaluated by lung injury scores. Diosmetin also decreased lung wet/dry ratios, as well as total protein levels, inflammatory cell infiltration and proinflammatory cytokine (eg. $TNF-{\alpha}$, $IL-1{\beta}$ and IL-6) overproduction in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Additionally, increased MPO, MDA and ROS levels induced by LPS were also markly suppressed by diosmetin. Furthermore, diosmetin significantly increased the expression of Nrf2 along with its target gene HO-1 and blocked the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in the lung tissues, which might be central to the protective effects of diosmetin. Further supporting these results, in vitro experiments also showed that diosmetin activated Nrf2 and HO-1, as well as inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome in both RAW264.7 and A549 cells. The present study highlights the protective effects of diosmetin on LPS-induced ALI via activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, bringing up the hope of its application as a therapeutic drug towards LPS-induced ALI.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1-14
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible impact factors(oral health level, oral health promotion behaviors, health level, health behaviors, and mental health) on oral health related quality of life using OHIP-14 of health allied college students. Methods: A total of 363 self-administered questionnaires were collected from university student in Seoul. To investigate the casual relationship between each variable presented in the research model, descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA(Scheffe's test), man-whitney, kruskal wallis, multiple regression analysis were carried out by using SPSS ver. 21.0 Results: The study shows that the students reported mean score of OHIP-14 ($8.32{\pm}7.51$), of which physical pain was the highest score($1.88{\pm}1.45$) and social disability was the lowest score($0.69{\pm}1.13$). Multiple regression revealed that the score of OHIP-14 was shown to be significantly higher for the following people: who were get more self-reported symptom of periodontitis, halitosis, negative self-perceived general health and oral health, no received dental scaling treatment, and participants who had no experience awareness of distress in two weeks. The explanatory power was 18.2%. The most powerful factor regarding to self-reported symptom of periodontitis was shown to be negatively relations oral health-related quality of life. Conclusions: In order to enhance the students' life quality, there need to be considered for a comprehensive oral health-related quality of life program for the students through health education policy.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 2016

Purpose: The Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ) was designed to measure post-traumatic symptoms related to childbirth and symptoms during postnatal period. The purpose of this study was to develop a translated Korean version of the PPQ and to evaluate reliability and validity of the Korean PPQ. Methods: Participants were 196 mothers at one to 18 months after giving childbirth and data were collected through e-mails. The PPQ was translated into Korean using translation guideline from World Health Organization. For this study Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability were used to evaluate the reliability of the PPQ. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and known-group validity were conducted to examine construct validity. Correlations of the PPQ with Impact of Event Scale (IES), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to test a criterion validity of the PPQ. Results: Cronbach's alpha and Spearman-Brown split-half correlation coefficient were 0.91 and 0.77, respectively. EFA identified a 3-factor solution including arousal, avoidance, and intrusion factors and CFA revealed the strongest support for the 3-factor model. The correlations of the PPQ with IES, BDI-II, and BAI were .99, .60, and .72, respectively, pointing to criterion validity of a high level. Conclusion: The Korean version PPQ is a useful tool for screening and assessing mothers' experiencing emotional distress related to child birth and during the postnatal period. The PPQ also reflects Post Traumatic Stress Disorder's diagnostic standards well.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.143-153
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• 2006

The purpose of this work was to assess and quantify the beneficial effects of gas exchange, while testingto the various frequencies of the sinusoidal wave that was excited by the PZT actuator, for patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or chronic respiratory problems. Also, this paper considered a simulator to design a hollow type artificial lung, and a mathematical model was used to predict a behavior of blood. This simulation was carried out according to the Montecarno's simulation method, anda fourth order Runge-Kutta method was used to solve the equation. The experimental design and procedure are then applied to the construction of a new device to assess the effectiveness of the membrane vibrations. As a result, the vibration method is very effective in the increase of gas transport. The gas exchange efficiency for the vibrating intravascular lung assist device can be increased by emphasizing the following design features: consistent and reproducible fiber geometry, and most importantly, an active means of enhancing convective mixing of water around the hollow fiber membranes. The experimental results showed the effective performance of the vibrating intravascular lung assist device. Also, we concluded that important design parameters were blood flow rates, fiber outer diameter and oxygen pressure drop. Based on the present results, it was believed that the optimal level of blood flow rates was 200$cm^3$/min.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.251-264
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the factors related to quality of life in heart transplant recipients. Methods: To identify studies that suggested the factors related to the quality of life in heart transplant recipients, we searched the articles published from 1974 to November 2018 using Six databases, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, KMBASE and RISS. A total of 22 studies were selected out of 5,234 for the systematic review and meta-analysis on the basis of the PRISMA flow. The quality of study was assessed by assessment tool form the NIH and meta-analysis was performed using the 'R 3.5.2' version to analyze the correlated effect sizes. Results: Factors related to quality of life in heart transplant recipients were categorized into six domains based on the health-related quality of life model introduced by Ferrans: individual, environmental, biological function, symptoms, functional status, and general health perception. In the meta-analysis, 34 factors were used and 17 factors having significant effect sizes were as follows: self-efficacy, demoralization, perceived control, current occupational status, age, marital status, health promotion life style in the individual characteristics; stress in environmental characteristics; physical function status, creatinine level, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in biological function; anxiety, depression, symptom frequency and distress in symptoms domain; coping, self-care compliance in functional status. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the multi-dimensional factors influencing the quality of life in heart transplant recipients and provide the evidence for developing effective interventions for improving the quality of life of recipients.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.299-307
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• 2019

Objectives: While occupational stress has long been a central focus of psychological research, few studies have investigated how immigrant microbusiness owners (MBOs) respond to their unusually demanding occupation, or how their unresolved occupational stress manifests in psychological distress. Based on the job demands-resources model, this study compared MBOs to employees with regard to the relationships among emotional demands, job resources, and depressive symptoms. Methods: Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey of 1288 Korean immigrant workers (MBOs, professionals, office workers, and manual workers) aged 30 to 70, living in Toronto and surrounding areas. Face-to-face interviews were conducted between March 2013 and November 2013. Results: Among the four occupational groups, MBOs appeared to endure the greatest level of emotional demands, while reporting relatively lower levels of job satisfaction and job security; but MBOs reported the greatest job autonomy. The effect of emotional demands on depressive symptoms was greater for MBOs than for professionals. However, an inspection of stress-resource interactions indicated that though MBOs enjoyed the greatest autonomy, the protective effects of job satisfaction and security on the psychological risk of emotional demands appeared to be more pronounced for MBOs than for any of the employee groups. Conclusions: One in two Korean immigrants choose self-employment, most typically in family-owned microbusinesses that involve emotionally taxing dealings with clients and suppliers. However, the benefits of job satisfaction and security may protect MBOs from the adverse mental health effects of job stress.