• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2023

Background: The human lung serves as a niche for a unique and dynamic bacterial community related to the development and aggravation of multiple respiratory diseases. Therefore, identifying the microbiome status is crucial to maintaining the microecological balance and maximizing the therapeutic effect on lung diseases. Therefore, we investigated the histological type-based differences in the lung microbiomes of patients with lung cancer. Methods: We performed 16S rRNA sequencing to evaluate the respiratory tract microbiome present in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer were stratified based on two main subtypes of lung cancer: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). Results: Among the 84 patients analyzed, 64 (76.2%) had adenocarcinoma, and 20 (23.8%) had SqCC. The α- and β-diversities showed significant differences between the two groups (p=0.004 for Chao1, p=0.001 for Simpson index, and p=0.011 for PERMANOVA). Actinomyces graevenitzii was dominant in the SqCC group (linear discriminant analysis [LDA] score, 2.46); the populations of Haemophilus parainfluenza (LDA score, 4.08), Neisseria subflava (LDA score, 4.07), Porphyromonas endodontalis (LDA score, 3.88), and Fusobacterium nucleatum (LDA score, 3.72) were significantly higher in the adenocarcinoma group. Conclusion: Microbiome diversity is crucial for maintaining homeostasis in the lung environment, and dysbiosis may be related to the development and prognosis of lung cancer. The mortality rate was high, and the microbiome was not diverse in SqCC. Further large-scale studies are required to investigate the role of the microbiome in the development of different lung cancer types.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.135-155
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• 2024

Urban public health monitoring in smart cities focuses on the control of conditions and health challenges in urban environments. Considering the rapid spread of diseases and pandemics, it is important for health authorities to trace people carrying the virus. In smart cities, this tracing must be interoperable and intelligent, especially in indoor surfaces characterized by small distances between people. Therefore, to fight pandemics, it is necessary to start with the already-existing digital equipment of the Internet of Things, such as connected objects and smartphones. In this study, the developed system is employed to provide a social IoT network and suggest a strategy which allows reliable traceability without threatening the privacy of users. This IoT-based system allows respecting the social distance between persons sharing public services in smart cities without applying smartphone applications or severe confinement. It also permits a return to normal life in case of viral pandemic and ensures the much-desired balance between economy and health. The present study analyses previous proposed social distance systems then, unlike these studies, suggests an intelligent and distributed IoT based strategy for positioning students. Two scenarios of static and dynamic optimization-based placement of Bluetooth Low Energy devices are proposed and an experimental study shows the contribution and complementarity of the introduced contact tracing strategy with the applications on smartphones.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of gluteal muscle strengthening exercises (GMSE) with ankle joint pumping exercises (AJPE) on thigh swelling, gait ability, and pain level in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: A total of 38 patients who had undergone total hip replacement surgery >1 week prior participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to a group that performed only GMSE (CG; n = 19) and a group that performed GMSE and AJPE (EG; n = 19). The CG group performed GMSE for 30 min, and the EG group performed GMSE for 30 min followed by AJPE for 15 min. Exercises were performed five times a week, for a total of 20 times over 4 weeks in both groups. Thigh swelling (thigh size), 10 m walking test (10MWT) and timed up and go test (TUG) results, pain level (visual analogue scale, VAS) scores, Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36), and hip outcome scale (HOS) scores were evaluated before and after the intervention. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of intervention, significant differences were observed in the thigh size, 10MWT, TUG, VAS, SF-36, HOS before and after intervention in both groups (p < . 05). However, only thigh size showed a significant interaction between group and measurement time (p < . 05). CONCLUSION: GMSE combined with AJPE might be effective in improving the gait ability and pain level in patients with total hip arthroplasty, and GMSE may be more effective in improving thigh swelling and gait ability than GMSE without AJPE.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.29-45
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the effects of pain level, lower back pain dysfunction level, psychosocial level, hip abductor strength (HAS), number of positive lumbar instability tests, and dynamic balance (DB) by applying lumbar stabilization exercises according to the presence or absence of gluteus medius muscle weakness in chronic lower back pain (CLBP) patients with lumbar instability. METHODS: Thirty-five CLBP patients with lumbar instability were divided into the gluteus medius weakness (n = 18) and gluteus medius non-weakened (n = 17) groups using the gluteus medius manual muscle test. Intervention applied conservative physical therapy and lumbar stabilization exercises to both groups that lasted three times a week for four weeks. To compare the intervention effects, the quadruple visual analog scale (QVAS), the Korean version of the Oswestry disability index (K-ODI), fear-avoidance beliefs questionnaire (FABQ), HAS, lumbar instability tests positive response counter (LIC), and DB were measured. RESULTS: Significant differences were shown for QVAS, K-ODI, FABQ, HAS, LIC, and DB for both groups pre- and post-intervention (p < .05). Compared to the gluteus medius weakness group, the gluteus medius non-weakened group showed a significant difference (p < .05) in the changes in QVAS, K-ODI, FABQ-W, FABQ-total, and HAS. CONCLUSION: In CLBP patients with lumbar instability, having gluteus medius weakness was less effective in improving lumbar stabilization exercise than gluteus medius non-weakness regarding pain level, lower back pain dysfunction level, psychosocial level excluding physical activity, and hip abductor strength. Therefore, additional gluteus medius strengthening exercises are necessary for patients with lumbar instability and gluteus medius muscle weakness.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.67-80
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• 2024

Background: Post-ovulatory aging (POA) of oocytes is related to a decrease in the quality and quantity of oocytes caused by aging. Previous studies on the characteristics of POA have investigated injury to early embryonic developmental ability, but no information is available on its effects on mitochondrial fission and mitophagy-related responses. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial fission and mitophagy in in vitro maturation (IVM) oocytes and a POA model based on RNA sequencing analysis. Methods: The POA model was obtained through an additional 24 h culture following the IVM of matured oocytes. NMN treatment was administered at a concentration of 25 μM during the oocyte culture process. We conducted MitoTracker staining and Western blot experiments to confirm changes in mitochondrial function between the IVM and POA groups. Additionally, comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes and associated changes in mitochondrial dynamics between porcine IVM and POA model oocytes. Results: In total, 32 common genes of apoptosis and 42 mitochondrial fission and function uniquely expressed genes were detected (≥ 1.5-fold change) in POA and porcine metaphase II oocytes, respectively. Functional analyses of mitochondrial fission, oxidative stress, mitophagy, autophagy, and cellular apoptosis were observed as the major changes in regulated biological processes for oocyte quality and maturation ability compared with the POA model. Additionally, we revealed that the activation of NAD⁺ by nicotinamide mononucleotide not only partly improved oocyte quality but also mitochondrial fission and mitophagy activation in the POA porcine model. Conclusions: In summary, our data indicate that mitochondrial fission and function play roles in controlling oxidative stress, mitophagy, and apoptosis during maturation in POA porcine oocytes. Additionally, we found that NAD⁺ biosynthesis is an important pathway that mediates the effects of DRP1-derived mitochondrial morphology, dynamic balance, and mitophagy in the POA model.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.553-562
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• 2017

In these days, agricultural reservoirs are considered as a useful resource for recreational purposes, tour and cultural amenity for vicinity communities as well as irrigation water supply. However, many of the agricultural reservoirs are showing a eutrophic or hyper-eutrophic state and high level of organic contamination. In particular, about 44.7% of the aged agricultural reservoirs that constructed before 1945 exceed the water quality criteria for irrigational water use. In addition to external loading, internal nutrient loading from bottom sediment may play an important role in the nutrient budget of the aged reservoirs. The objectives of this study were to characterize variations of thermal structure of a shallow M reservoir (mean depth 1.7 m) and examine the potential of internal nutrient loading by continuous monitoring of vertical water temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration profiles in 2015 and 2016. The effect of internal loading on the total loading of the reservoir was evaluated by mass balance analysis. Results showed that a weak thermal stratification and a strong DO stratification were developed in the shallow M Reservoir. And, dynamic temporal variation in DO was observed at the bottom of the reservoir. Persistent hypoxic conditions (DO concentrations less than 2 mg/L) were established for 87 days and 98 days in 2015 and 2016, respectively, during the no-rainy summer periods. The DO concentrations intermittently increased during several events of atmospheric temperature drop and rainfall. According to the mass balance analysis, the amount of internal $PO_4-P$ loading from sediment to the overlying water were 37.9% and 39.7% of total loading during no-rainy season in 2015 and 2016, respectively on August when algae growth is enhanced with increasing water temperature. Consequently, supply of DO to the lower layer of the reservoir could be effective countermeasure to reduce nutrient release under the condition of persistent DO depletion in the bottom of the reservoir.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.435-445
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• 2023

A delta is a depositional landform that is formed when sediment transported by a river is deposited in a relatively low-energy environment, such as a lake, sea, or a main channel. Among these, a delta formed at the confluence of rivers has a great importance in river management and research because it has a significant impact on the hydraulic and sedimentological characteristics of the river. Recently, the equilibrium state of the confluence area has been disrupted by large-scale dredging and construction of levees in the Nakdong River. However, due to the natural recovery of the river, the confluence area is returning to its pre-dredging natural state through ongoing sedimentation. The time-series data show that the confluence delta has been steadily growing since the dredging, but once it reaches a certain size, it repeats growth and retreat, and the overall size does not change significantly. In this study, we developed a model to explain the sedimentation-erosion processes in the confluence area based on the assumption that the confluence delta reaches a dynamic equilibrium. The model is based on two fundamental principles: sedimentation due to supply from the tributary and erosion due to the main channel. The erosion coefficient that represents the Nakdong River confluence areas, was obtained using data from the tributaries of the Nakdong River. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using the developed model to understand how the confluence delta responds to changes in the sediment and water discharges of the tributary and the main channel, respectively. We then used annual average discharge of the Nakdong River's tributaries to predict the dynamic equilibrium positions of the confluence deltas. Finally, we conducted a simulation experiment on the development of the Gamcheon-Nakdong River delta using recorded daily discharge. The results showed that even though it is a simple model, it accurately predicted the dynamic equilibrium positions of the confluence deltas in the Nakdong River, including the areas where the delta had not formed, and those where the delta had already formed and predicted the trend of the response of the Gamcheon-Nakdong River delta. However, the actual retreat in the Gamcheon-Nakdong River delta was not captured fully due to errors and limitations in the simplification process. The insights through this study provide basic information on the sediment supply of the Nakdong River through the confluence areas, which can be implemented as a basic model for river maintenance and management.

• Korean small business review
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.77-93
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• 2011

Since 2000, the employment rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has dwindled while the creation of new jobs and the emergence of healthy SMEs have been stagnant. The fundamental reason for these symptoms is that the economic structure is disadvantageous to SMEs. In particular, the greater gap between SMEs and large enterprises has resulted in polarization, and the resulting imbalance has become the largest obstacle to improving SMEs' competitiveness. For example, the total productivity has continued to drop, and the average productivity of SMEs is now merely 30% of that of large enterprises, and the average wage of SMEs' employees is only 53% of that of large enterprises. Along with polarization, rapid industrialization has also caused anti-enterprise consensus, the collapse of the middle class, hostility towards establishments, and other aftereffects. The general consensus is that unless these problems are solved, South Korea will not become an advanced country. Especially, South Korea is now facing issues that need urgent measures, such as the decline of its economic growth, the worsening distribution of profits, and the increased external volatility. Recognizing such negative trends, the MB administration proposed a win-win growth policy and recently introduced a new national value called "ecosystemic development." As the terms in such policy agenda are similar, however, the conceptual differences among such terms must first be fully understood. Therefore, in this study, the concepts of win-win growth policy and ecosystemic development, and the need for them, were surveyed, and their differences from and similarities with other policy concepts like win-win cooperation and symbiotic development were examined. Based on the results of the survey and examination, the study introduced a South Korean model of win-win growth, targeting the promotion of a sound balance between large enterprises and SMEs and an innovative ecosystem, and finally, proposing future policy tasks. Win-win growth is not an academic term but a policy term. Thus, it is less advisable to give a theoretical definition of it than to understand its concept based on its objective and method as a policy. The core of the MB administration's win-win growth policy is the creation of a partnership between key economic subjects such as large enterprises and SMEs based on each subject's differentiated capacity, and such economic subjects' joint promotion of growth opportunities. Its objective is to contribute to the establishment of an advanced capitalistic system by securing the sustainability of the South Korean economy. Such win-win growth policy includes three core concepts. The first concept, ecosystem, is that win-win growth should be understood from the viewpoint of an industrial ecosystem and should be pursued by overcoming the issues of specific enterprises. An enterprise is not an independent entity but a social entity, meaning it exists in relationship with the society (Drucker, 2011). The second concept, balance, points to the fact that an effort should be made to establish a systemic and social infrastructure for a healthy balance in the industry. The social system and infrastructure should be established in such a way as to create a balance between short- term needs and long-term sustainability, between freedom and responsibility, and between profitability and social obligations. Finally, the third concept is the behavioral change of economic entities. The win-win growth policy is not merely about simple transactional relationships or determining reasonable prices but more about the need for a behavior change on the part of economic entities, without which the objectives of the policy cannot be achieved. Various advanced countries have developed different win-win growth models based on their respective cultures and economic-development stages. Japan, whose culture is characterized by a relatively high level of group-centered trust, has developed a productivity improvement model based on such culture, whereas the U.S., which has a highly developed system of market capitalism, has developed a system that instigates or promotes market-oriented technological innovation. Unlike Japan or the U.S., Europe, a late starter, has not fully developed a trust-based culture or market capitalism and thus often uses a policy-led model based on which the government leads the improvement of productivity and promotes technological innovation. By modeling successful cases from these advanced countries, South Korea can establish its unique win-win growth system. For this, it needs to determine the method and tasks that suit its circumstances by examining the prerequisites for its success as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each advanced country. This paper proposes a South Korean model of win-win growth, whose objective is to upgrade the country's low-trust-level-based industrial structure, in which large enterprises and SMEs depend only on independent survival strategies, to a high-trust-level-based social ecosystem, in which large enterprises and SMEs develop a cooperative relationship as partners. Based on this objective, the model proposes the establishment of a sound balance of systems and infrastructure between large enterprises and SMEs, and to form a crenovative social ecosystem. The South Korean model of win-win growth consists of three axes: utilization of the South Koreans' potential, which creates community-oriented energy; fusion-style improvement of various control and self-regulated systems for establishing a high-trust-level-oriented social infrastructure; and behavioral change on the part of enterprises in terms of putting an end to their unfair business activities and promoting future-oriented cooperative relationships. This system will establish a dynamic industrial ecosystem that will generate creative energy and will thus contribute to the realization of a sustainable economy in the 21st century. The South Korean model of win-win growth should pursue community-based self-regulation, which promotes the power of efficiency and competition that is fundamentally being pursued by capitalism while at the same time seeking the value of society and community. Already existing in Korea's traditional roots, such objectives have become the bases of the Shinbaram culture, characterized by the South Koreans' spontaneity, creativity, and optimism. In the process of a community's gradual improvement of its rules and procedures, the trust among the community members increases, and the "social capital" that guarantees the successful control of shared resources can be established (Ostrom, 2010). This basic ideal can help reduce the gap between large enterprises and SMEs, alleviating the South Koreans' victim mentality in the face of competition and the open-door policy, and creating crenovative corporate competitiveness. The win-win growth policy emerged for the purpose of addressing the polarization and imbalance structure resulting from the evolution of 21st-century capitalism. It simultaneously pursues efficiency and fairness on one hand and economic and community values on the other, and aims to foster efficient interaction between the market and the government. This policy, however, is also evolving. The win-win growth policy can be considered an extension of the win-win cooperation that the past 'Participatory Government' promoted at the enterprise management level to the level of systems and culture. Also, the ecosystemic development agendum that has recently emerged is a further extension that has been presented as a national ideal of "a new development model that promotes the co-advancement of environmental conservation, growth, economic development, social integration, and national and individual development."

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.3
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• pp.503-509
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Forest-walking exercise on gait pattern in the elderly. The subjects (n=37) were assigned to 2 groups: Forest-walking exercise (FWE) group (n=19, $66.34{\pm}4.31$ years old) and In-door treadmill-walking exercise (ITWE) group (n=18, $67.18{\pm}2.78$ years old). The subjects participated in FWE program or ITWE program (3 times/week, 80 min/day) for 12 weeks. The subjects were tested on functional fitness (strength, endurance, agility/balance, BMI) and gait pattern (cadence, velocity, and stability) at the beginning and the end of the 12-weeks program. For data analysis, mean and standard deviation scores were calculated, and independent t-test and repeated two-way ANOVA were used. The results of this study were as follow: First, FWE group was significantly more improved than ITWE group on functional fitness(lower-body muscular strength, lower-body flexibility, mobility, cardiorespiratory endurance) after 12-weeks exercise program. But both groups showed equally improvements on functional fitness (upper-body muscular strength, upper-body flexibility, BMI). Second, FWE group was significantly more improved than ITWE group on cadence, gait velocity, and gait stability after 12-weeks exercise program. Therefore, this study may suggest that Forest-walking exercise based on sensory-motor functional integration improves efficiently functional fitness and gait pattern in the elderly, and further becomes an effective exercise method that makes more dynamic life, and prevents from falling.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1476-1484
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• 2004

Aging is characterized by an age-dependent reduction in bone density. Pronounced bone loss by postmenopausal estrogen deficiency induces a bad effect on dynamic balance of bone metabolism. When the bone density is reduced to the level below the fracture threshold, the risk for fracture is greatly increased. The purpose of this study is to examine what are the effects of the Guisinhwan(GSH : 歸腎丸) on the ovariectomized rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The results of the experiment are as follows: Body weight in control group showed significant increase in comparison with sham, but that in GSH-treated showed no change in comparison with control. The level of serum albumin in control group showed significant decrease in comparison with sham. That in GSH-treated was slightly decreased in comparison with control. The level of serum ALP activity in control group showed significant increase in comparison with sham, but that in GSH-treated was significantly decreased in comparison with control. The level of serum phosphorous, calcium, GOT, GPT, T3 did not significant change among the three groups. The level of serum estrogen in control group showed slightly decreased in comparison with sham, but that in GSH-treated showed no change in comparison with control. The level of serum T4 in control group showed significant increase in comparison with sham, but that in GSH-treated was significantly decreased in comparison with control. Trabecular bone area as well as trabecular thickness in control group showed significant decrease In comparison with sham. Those in GSH-treated showed significant increase in comparison with control. Trabecular number did not significant change among the three groups. Trabecular separation only in GSH-treated showed significant decrease in comparison with control. Osteoclast number in control group showed significant increase in comparison with sham. That in GSH-treated showed significant decrease in comparison with control. Oseoblast surface in control group showed significant increase in comparison with sham, but that in GSH-treated showed no change in comparison with control. According to the above these results, GSH has shown to be capable of preventing and curing osteoporosis caused by old-aged and postmenopause.