• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.424-430
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• 2018

This study was carried out to estimate growth characteristics of hot pepper and to develop predicted models for the production yield based on the growth parameters and climatic elements. Sigmoid regressions for the prediction of growth parameters in terms of fresh and dry weight, plant height, and leaf area were designed with growing degree days (GDD). The biomass and leaf expansion of hot pepper plants were rapidly increased when 1,000 and 941 GDD. The relative growth rate (RGR) of hot pepper based on dry weight was formulated by Gaussian's equation RGR $(dry\;weight)=0.0562+0.0004{\times}DAT-0.00000557{\times}DAT^2$ and the yields of fresh and dry hot pepper at the 112 days after transplanting were estimated 1,387 and 291 kg/10a, respectively. Results indicated that the growth and yield of hot pepper were predicted by potential growth model under plastic tunnel cultivation. Thus, those models need to calibration and validation to estimate the efficacy of prediction yield in hot pepper using supplement a predicting model, which was based on the parameters and climatic elements.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1205-1211
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• 2011

In this paper, we developed a pacemaker that can increase the efficacy of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and increase the survival rate for patients suffering end-stage heart failure. Because LVAD patients can experience arrhythmia, the pacemaker incorporated into the LVAD has the important role of sustaining sufficient blood circulation during arrhythmia. The electrode of the pacemaker is located at the apex of the left ventricle, where the VAD's inlet cannula is connected. This is efficient placement, in that the electrode can transmit electrical stimulation directly to the Purkinje fibers of the myocardium. The pacemaker can change the stimulation rate from 0 bpm to 191.4 bpm when a button is pressed on the external control module, and the pacemaker normally stimulates the heart at 60 bpm with 0.25 J of energy. We performed animal experiments to evaluate the performance and reliability of the combination of the LVAD and pacemaker. At pacemaker stimulation rates of 86.4 bpm, 100.2 bpm, 126.6 bpm, we recorded the ECGs, aortic pressures, and flow rates to analyze the heart loads.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2007

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of slow freezing with vitrification method for cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear stage embryos. Methods: Mouse pronuclear embryos obtained from superovulated mice and classified into 2 groups of slow freezing and vitrification. Slow freezing solution consisted of 1.5 M PROH, 0.1 M sucrose, while vitrification solution consisted of 40% ethylene glycol, 18% Ficoll and 0.5 M sucrose diluted in Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 10% SSS. Recovery and survival rates after thawing and development rates to hatching balstocyst stage were compared between two groups. Results: After freezing and thawing, recovery rate of slow freezing group was 93.8%, whereas vitrification group was 66.5% (p<0.01). Survival rate of recovered embryos were similar between two groups as 83.2% in slow freezing and 87.6% in vitrification. Embryo development rates to 2-cell stage after 24 hrs (77.0% vs 59.1%), 4-cell after 48 hrs (72.6% vs 53.3%), blastocyst after 96 hrs (53.1% vs 40.1%) of thawing were significantly higher in vitrification group than those of slow freezing group, respectively. Conclusion: The vitrification method may provide better developmental competence of frozen-thawed embryos than that of slow freezing method for cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear stage embryos.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.169-173
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• 2007

Background: Although the use of intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IVPCA) has been compared to the use of patient conrolled epidural analgesia (PCEA), there is no optimal administration route of alfentanil for the treatment of postoperative pain. This randomized double-blind study compared the efficacy of the use of IVPCA and PCEA for postoperative pain and the side effects after a total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH). Methods: Sixty patients undergoing a TAH were randomly assigned to receive either IVPCA (Group I) or PCEA (Group E) for the infusion of alfentanil for postoperative pain control. In both groups, a loading dose of $750{\mu}g$ alfentanil was administered. All patients received the same continuous infusion rate (0.3 mg/h), bolus dose (0.15 mg), and lockout time (15 min). The incidence of side effects, the VAS (visual analog scale) of pain, blood pressure, and heart rate were checked for 20 hours after the loading dose injection. Results: The VAS of pain was not significantly different between the two groups of patients. The onset of the analgesic effect was significantly more rapid in the Group I patients than in the Group E patients. There was no difference in side effects for either group. Conclusions: When considering multiple factors such as the onset of analgesia, technical difficulties or infection after the procedure, IVPCA using alfentanil is more useful than PCEA for postoperative pain control after a TAH.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.297-305
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• 1998

This study used in vivo intracellular recording in rat hippocampus to evaluate the effect of lidocaine and MK-801 on the membrane properties and the synaptic responses of individual neurons to electrical stimulation of the commissural pathway. Cells in control group typically fired in a tonic discharge mode with an average firing frequency of $2.4{\pm}0.9$ Hz. Neuron in MK-801 treated group (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) had an average input resistance of $3.28{\pm}5.7\;M{\Omega}$ and a membrane time constant of $7.4{\pm}1.8$ ms. These neurons exhibited $2.4{\pm}0.2$ ms spike durations, which were similar to the average spike duration recorded in the neurons of the control group. Slightly less than half of these neurons were firing spontaneously with an average discharge rate of $2.4{\pm}1.1$ Hz. The average peak amplitude of the AHP following the spikes in these groups was $7.4{\pm}0.6$ mV with respect to the resting membrane potential. Cells in MK-801 and lidocaine treated group (5 mg/kg, i.c.v.) had an average input resistance of $3.45{\pm}6.0\;M{\Omega}$ and an average time constant of $8.0{\pm}1.4$ ms. The cells were firing spontaneously at an average discharge rate of $0.6{\pm}0.4$ Hz. Upon depolarization of the membrane by 0.8 nA for 400 ms, all of the tested cells exhibited accommodation of spike discharge. The most common synaptic response contained an EPSP followed by early-IPSP and late-IPSP. Analysis of the voltage dependence revealed that the early-IPSP and late-IPSP were putative $Cl^--and\;K^+-dependent$, respectively. Systemic injection of the NMDA receptor blocker, MK-801, did not block synaptic responses to the stimulation of the commissural pathway. No significant modifications of EPSP, early-IPSP, or late-IPSP components were detected in the MK-801 and/or lidocaine treated group. These results suggest that MK-801 and lidocaine manifest their CNS effects through firing pattern of hippocampal pyramidal cells and neural network pattern by changing the synaptic efficacy and cellular membrane properties.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.531-537
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• 2009

Purpose: Alveolar bone grafting has become an essential process in the treatmemt of alveolar cleft patient for stabilization of the maxillary arch, elimination of oronasal fistula, the reconstruction of the soft tissue nasal base support, and creation of bony support for tooth eruption for implant. The use of Autologous iliac cancellous bone is preferable because of the adequate quantity and high osteoinductive potential. However, even with iliac bone, insufficient osteoregeneration and absorption occur due to several factors such as the patient's age, cleft width, functional stress, and others. In order to increase osteoregeneration where the iliac bone is placed, the present study is associated with bone marrow aspirate (BMA). The experimental study evaluated the efficacy of osteoregeneration in normal cleft rabbits when alveolar bone grafting was performed with autologous iliac corticocancellous bone. Methods: Twenty - four New Zealand White rabbits were divided randomly into 2 groups (BMA, control). All animals underwent harvesting of corticocancellous bone graft from the right posterior iliac crest via standard surgical technique. $1m{\ell}$ of BMA were obtained by scraping the needle and aspirate with $10m{\ell}$ syringe from the contralateral iliac bone wall. The muco - periosteal flap on the palate was elevated. A mixture of Equal bone's volumes with BMA and saline as its control was inserted into the cleft. Animals were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 8 weeks and maxilla was harvested for dental peri - apical X-ray, bone matrix density (BMD),and histologic analysis. Result: BMD of regenerated bone to the cleft in the rabbits was higher than that of the control rabbits. X-ray, histologic analysis showed that increased osteoregeneration and low absorption rate were observed in the BMA group. Conclusion: Our experimental study showed BMA enhanced the osteoregeneration and survival rate of alveolar bone grafting. BMA is easy to extract & cost - time effective. So it can be an effective enhancers for bone grafting mixtures.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.225-232
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• 1990

The immune responses of commercial layer chickens against Newcastle disease (ND) were compared among different administration methods and times of vaccination during 4 weeks of age. A total of 372 day-old chickens were devided into 4 groups of 93 birds each. Each of 3 groups was received a commercially available B$_1$ live vaccine via drinking water, eye instillation or spray method at one, 14 and 28 days of age. One group was used as an unvaccinated control. At two and 4 weeks after each time of vaccination, 15 birds from each group were challenged with virulent ND virus at the dose of 10$^{5}$ EID$_{50}$ per bird to examine the pretection rate. Ten to 15 birds from each group were bled at two weeks intervals from day old to 8 weeks of age to determine hemagglutination inhibition antibody titer. The protection rate was generally low regardless of the times of vaccination although two or more times vaccination gave higher protection than once vaccination. The low protection was considered due to low titer of the vaccine used since the vaccine titer was less than 10$^{2.5}$ EID$_{50}$ per bird. Spray method gave better protection compared to eye instillation of drinking water method which resulted in lowest response. When birds were challenged majority showed clinical signs on ND between 3 and 6 days after challenge. Death occured one or two days after onset of symptoms. Major clinical signs observed were depression (96%), drowsy(90%), anorexia (84%), diarrhoea (29%), difficult breath (15%) and torticollis (10%). Hemorrhagic lesions on post mortem were seen in duodenum (51%), trachea(36%), illeum (13%), ceacal tonsil (11%), proventriculus (10%) and some other organs. When birds were challenged majority showed clinical signs on ND between 3 and 6 days after challenge. Death occured one or two days after onset of symptoms. Major clinical signs observed were depression (96%), drowsy(90%), anorexia (84%), diarrhoea (29%), difficult breath (15%) and torticollis (10%). Hemorrhagic lesions on post mortem were seen in duodenum (51%), trachea(35%), illeum (13%), ceacal tonsil (11%), proventriculus (10%) and some other organs.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.306-325
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• 2020

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a Dachaihu decoction for hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP) by systematic review and meta-analysis of Chinese clinical studies. Methods: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was utilized as the major search engine. The date of the literature search was March 7, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about using a Dachaihu decoction for HLAP were included in this study. Meta-analysis was performed by synthesizing outcome data, including total effective rate, abdomen pain relief time, first bowel movement time, blood amylase recovery time, and triglyceride (TG) levels (mmol/L). The selected literature was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB). Results: Twelve of 44 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were evaluated with RoB as having unclear risk. The total effective rate of herbal medicine treatment based on the Dachaihu decoction was significantly higher than that of symptomatic supportive treatment in 10 articles (risk ratio=1.15, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.21, p<0.00001, I²=0%). Herbal medicine treatment based on a Dachaihu decoction was significantly more effective than symptomatic supportive treatment in terms of reducing abdomen pain relief time (in all articles; mean difference=-1.70, 95% CI: -1.91 to -1.41, p<0.00001, I²=45%), first bowel movement time (in 7 articles; mean difference=-1.46, 95% CI: -1.86 to -1.05, p<0.00001, I²=73%), blood amylase recovery time (in 8 articles; mean difference=-1.48, 95% CI: -2.04 to -0.92, p<0.00001, I²=90%), and TG levels (in 8 articles; mean difference=-1.59, 95% CI: -2.28to -0.91, p<0.00001, I²=90%). Only one article reported side effects of treatment among the intervention group and control group, citing pancreatic ulcer and pancreatic pseudocyst formation. Conclusions: This study suggests that herbal medicine treatment based on a Dachaihu decoction could yield higher efficacy for HLAP than symptomatic supportive treatment alone. However, the results might be somewhat biased because of the poor quality and small sample size of the included RCTs. Well-qualified clinical studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of Dachaihu decoction therapy for HLAP.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2015

Purpose: This study aims to investigate Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 during Helicobacter pylori eradication in children. Methods: One hundred ninety-four H. pylori positive children were randomized in two groups. Therapy (omeprazole+ clarithromycin+amoxicillin or omeprazole+clarithromycin+metronidazole in case of penicillin allergy) was given to both groups during two weeks. In the treatment group (n: 102) S. boulardii was added to the triple therapy, while the control group (n: 92) only received triple therapy. The incidence, onset, duration and severity of diarrhea and compliance to the eradication treatment were compared. A $^{13}C$ urea breath test was done 4 weeks after the end of eradication therapy in two groups of 21 patients aged 12 years and older to test the H. pylori eradication rate. Results: In the treatment group, diarrhea occurred in 12 cases (11.76%), starting after $6.25{\pm}1.24days$, lasting $3.17{\pm}1.08days$, and compliance to eradication treatment was 100%. In the control group, diarrhea occurred in 26 cases (28.26%), starting after $4.05{\pm}1.11days$, lasting $4.02{\pm}0.87days$, and in six cases eradication treatment was stopped prematurely (p<0.05). The $^{13}C$ urea breath test showed successful H. pylori eradication in 71.4% of the patients in the treatment and in 61.9 % in the control group (not significant). Conclusion: S. boulardii has a beneficial effect on the prevention and treatment of diarrhea during H. pylori eradication in children. Although S. boulardii did only slightly increase H. pylori eradication rate, compliance to eradication treatment was improved.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2003

Background and Objectives: The Herpes Simplex type 2 Defective Infectious Single Cycle virus (DISC virus) is attenuated virus originally produced as viral vaccines but are also efficient gene transfer vehicle. The main goals of this study were to examine the efficiencies of the gene transfer using DISC vectors for various head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines and to evaluate the efficacy of vaccination with DISC virus carrying a immunomodulatory genes (GM-CSF) as cancer therapy in a organotopic oral cavity squamous cell cancer model. Materials and Methods : We determinated the gene transfer efficiency of DISC virus by x-gal stain method and proved gene and protein expression of DISC-GMCSF transfected SCCVII cells by RT-PCR and ELISA method. Also we evaluated the ex vivo vaccination effects of SCCVII/GMCSF (DISC-GMCSF transfected SCCVII vaccine) vaccine on preventing the recurrence of micro-residual tumor. After the vaccination of SCCVII/GMCSF, specific cytotoxic T-cell responses was evaluated by CTL assay. Results: At an MOI of 10 DISC virus showed 64-88% of transfection rates in various head and neck squamous cancer cell lines. SCCVII cells transduced by DISC virus vector (MOI=10) carrying the GM-CSF gene, produced 4.5 nanogram quantities of GM-CSF per $10^6$ cells. In vivo vaccination using tumor cells transduced ex vivo with DISC-GMCSF resulted in better protection rate against subsequent tumor recurrence in organotopic oral cavity cancer model. Although tumor free survival rate was not statistically significantly increased in vaccination group (p=0.078), tumor specific cytotocic T-cell responses were significantly increased in SCCVII/GMCSF vaccination group. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that; 1) The DISC virus vector is capable of efficient gene transfer to various head and neck squamous cancer cell lines, 2) GM-CSF secreting genetically modified tumor vaccine (SCCVII/GMCSF) efficiently protected against tumor recurrence in organotopic micro-residual oral cavity cancer model and produced tumor specific cytotoxic T-cell response. DISC virus-mediated, cytokine gene transfer may prove to be useful as a clinical therapy for head and neck cancers.