• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 2022

Background: Distal biceps rupture is a relatively uncommon injury that can significantly affect quality of life. Early complications following biceps tendon repair are not well described in the literature. This study utilizes a national surgical database to determine the incidence of and predictors for short-term complications following distal biceps tendon repair. Methods: The American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used to identify patients undergoing distal biceps repair between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2017. Patient demographic variables of sex, age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, functional status, and several comorbidities were collected for each patient, along with 30-day postoperative complications. Binary logistic regression was used to calculate risk ratios for these complications using patient predictor variables. Results: Early postoperative surgical complications (0.5%)-which were mostly infections (0.4%)-and medical complications (0.3%) were rare. A readmission risk factor was diabetes (risk ratio [RR], 4.238; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.180-15.218). Non-home discharge risk factors were smoking (RR, 3.006; 95% CI, 1.123-8.044) and ≥60 years of age (RR, 4.150; 95% CI, 1.611-10.686). Maleness was protective for medical complications (RR, 0.024; 95% CI, 0.005-0.126). Surgical complication risk factors were obese class II (RR, 4.120; 95% CI, 1.123-15.120), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; RR, 21.981; 95% CI, 3.719-129.924), and inpatient surgery (RR, 8.606; 95% CI, 2.266-32.689). Conclusions: Complication rates after distal biceps repair are low. Various patient demographics, medical comorbidities, and surgical factors were all predictive of short-term complications.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2022

Objectives Maltreatment experiences can alter brain function related to emotion regulation, such as cognitive reappraisal. While dysregulation of emotion is an important risk factor to mental health problems in maltreated people, studies reported alterations in brain networks related to cognitive reappraisal are still lacking. Methods Twenty-seven healthy subjects were recruited in this study. The maltreatment experiences and positive reappraisal abilities were measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, respectively. Twelve subjects reported one or more moderate maltreatment experiences. Subjects were re-exposed to pictures after the cognitive reappraisal task using the International Affective Picture System during fMRI scan. Results The maltreatment group reported more negative feelings on negative pictures which tried cognitive reappraisal than the no-maltreatment group (p < 0.05). Activities in the right superior marginal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus were higher in the maltreatment group (uncorrected p < 0.001, cluster size > 20). Conclusions We found that paradoxical activities in semantic networks were shown in the victims of maltreatment. Further study might be needed to clarify these aberrant functions in semantic networks related to maltreatment experiences.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to suggest a way to easily understand and utilize the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) or Korean Standard Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (KCF), a common and standard language related to health information. METHODS: The tools used by physical therapists to evaluate the functioning of neurological patients were collected from 10 domestic hospitals. By applying the ICF linking rule, two experts compared, analyzed, and linked the concepts in the items of the collected tools and the ICF/KCF codes. The frequency of use of the selected tool, the matching rate of the liking results of two experts, and the number of the codes linked were treated as descriptive statistics and the code set was presented as a list. RESULTS: The berg balance scale, trunk impairment scale, timed up and go test, functional ambulation category, 6 Minute walk test, manual muscle test, and range of motion measurements were the most commonly used tools for evaluating the functioning. The total number of items of the seven tools was 33, and the codes linked to the ICF/KCF were 69. Twenty-two codes were mapped, excluding duplicate codes. Ten codes in the body function, 11 codes in the activity, and one code in the environmental factor were included. CONCLUSION: The information on the development process of the code set will increase the understanding of ICF/KCF and the developed code set can conveniently be used for collecting patients' functioning information.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2023

Background: Ginsenoside Rg2 (Rg2) has a variety of pharmacological activities and provides benefits during inflammation, cancer, and other diseases. However, there are no reports about the relationship between Rg2 and atherosclerosis. Methods: We used 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) to detect the cell viability of Rg2 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The expression of inflammatory factors in HUVECs and the expression of phenotypic transformation-related marker in VSMCs were detected at mRNA levels. Western blot method was used to detect the expression of inflammation pathways and the expression of phenotypic transformation at the protein levels. The rat carotid balloon injury model was performed to explore the effect of Rg2 on inflammation and phenotypic transformation in vivo. Results: Rg2 decreased the expression of inflammatory factors induced by lipopolysaccharide in HUVECs-without affecting cell viability. These events depend on the blocking regulation of NF-κB and p-ERK signaling pathway. In VSMCs, Rg2 can inhibit the proliferation, migration, and phenotypic transformation of VSMCs induced by platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-which may contribute to its anti-atherosclerotic role. In rats with carotid balloon injury, Rg2 can reduce intimal proliferation after injury, regulate the inflammatory pathway to reduce inflammatory response, and also suppress the phenotypic transformation of VSMCs. Conclusion: These results suggest that Rg2 can exert its anti-atherosclerotic effect at the cellular level and animal level, which provides a more sufficient basis for ginseng as a functional dietary regulator.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.950-962
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• 2022

Aging is a major risk factor for common neurodegenerative diseases. Although multiple molecular, cellular, structural, and functional changes occur in the brain during aging, the involvement of caveolin-2 (Cav-2) in brain ageing remains unknown. We investigated Cav-2 expression in brains of aged mice and its effects on endothelial cells. The human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) showed decreased THP-1 adhesion and infiltration when treated with Cav-2 siRNA compared to control siRNA. In contrast, Cav-2 overexpression increased THP-1 adhesion and infiltration in HUVECs. Increased expression of Cav-2 and iba-1 was observed in brains of old mice. Moreover, there were fewer iba-1-positive cells in the brains of aged Cav-2 knockout (KO) mice than of wild-type aged mice. The levels of several chemokines were higher in brains of aged wild-type mice than in young wild-type mice; moreover, chemokine levels were significantly lower in brains of young mice as well as aged Cav-2 KO mice than in their wild-type counterparts. Expression of PECAM1 and VE-cadherin proteins increased in brains of old wild-type mice but was barely detected in brains of young wild-type and Cav-2 KO mice. Collectively, our results suggest that Cav-2 expression increases in the endothelial cells of aged brain, and promotes leukocyte infiltration and age-associated neuroinflammation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.185-185
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• 2023

Agricultural water demand is considered as the major sector of water withdrawal due to irrigation. The majority part of the global agricultural field depends on various irrigation techniques. Therefore, a timely and sufficient supply of water is the most important requirement for agriculture. Irrigation is implemented in different ways in various land surface models, it can be modeled empirically based on observed irrigation rates or by calculating water supply and demand. Certain models can also calculate the irrigation demand as per the soil water deficit. In these implementations, irrigation is typically applied uniformly over the irrigated land regardless of crop types or irrigation techniques. Whereas, the latest version of Community Land Model (CLM) in the Community Terrestrial Systems Model (CTSM) uses a global distribution map of irrigation with 64 crop functional types (CFTs) to simulate the irrigation water demand. It can estimate irrigation water withdrawal from different sources and the amount or the areas irrigated with different irrigation techniques. Hence, we set up the model for the simulation period of 16 years from 2000 to 2015 to analyze the global irrigation demand at a spatial resolution of 1.9° × 2.5°. The simulated irrigation water demand is evaluated with the available observation data from FAO AQUASTAT database at the country scale. With the evaluated model, this study aims to suggest new sustainable scenarios for the ratios of irrigation water withdrawal, high depending on the withdrawal sources e.g. surface water and groundwater. With such scenarios, the CFT maps are considered as the determining factor for selecting the areas where the crop pattern can be altered for a sustainable irrigation water management depending on the available withdrawal sources. Overall, our study demonstrate that the scenarios for the future sustainable water resources management in terms of irrigation water withdrawal from the both the surface water and groundwater sources may overcome the excessive stress on exploiting the groundwater in major river basins globally.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 2023

Background: Acromioclavicular (AC) osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent pathology of the shoulder in elderly patients. Drug injection plays an important role in treatment of AC OA. Literature has demonstrated excellent short-term results regarding shoulder function and pain. However, mid- to long-term results are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a single intra-articular AC injection in patients with AC OA and to identify predictive factors for success. Methods: A retrospective study was performed to analyze success rate, shoulder function, and pain perception after a single intra-articular injection in patients with AC OA. Success was defined as the absence of reinterventions such as additional injection or surgery. Outcome measures were 1-year success rate and clinical outcome scores of Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, Oxford Shoulder Score, and Subjective Shoulder Value. Results: Ninety-eight patients participated in this study. At a median final follow-up of 0.8 years (interquartile range, 0-6), 57 of these patients (58%) had undergone a reintervention. The 1-year success rate was 47% (95% confidence interval, 37%-57%), with NRS at rest as the sole factor significantly associated with success. Thirty patients not requiring reintervention reported significant improvement from baseline for all reported outcome measures at final follow-up. Conclusions: AC injections offer a 1-year success rate of 47%. The AC injection produces good mid- to long-term clinical outcomes regarding shoulder function, quality of life, and pain perception in one-third of patients. Further research is essential to analyze mid- to long-term outcomes of AC injections.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.59-67
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• 2023

Purpose : Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is recognized as an important cellular response in metastatic proceduresand characterized by loss of cellular polarity as well as gain of mesenchymal features, which enables migration and invasion. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common primary carcinomas in the liver and exhibits a poor prognosis due to frequent extrahepatic metastasis. Taraxacum officinale has been used for a long time in oriental medicine because of its various pharmacological activitiessuch as anti-rheumatic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticarcinogenic activities. In this study, the anti-metastatic activity of T. officinale water extract (TOWE) and ethanol extract (TOEE) was investigated through the regulation of EMT in the Huh7 cells. Methods : The effects of TOWE and TOEE on migratory and invasive activities were investigated by wound healing and in vitro invasion assays. Western blot analysis was also applied to analyze protein expression levels associated with EMT and their upstream transcription factors in Huh7 cells. Results : TOWE and TOEE treatment potently inhibited migration and invasion of Huh7 cells compared to the untreated group. Both extracts treatment inhibited protein expression levels of N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and vimentin while E-cadherin was significantly accelerated. In addition, the activated status of transcription factors, Snail, nuclear factor (NF)-κ B, and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB)1 was also inhibited with statistical significance. In comparison to both extracts, TOEE more potently attenuated migration, invasion, and EMT markers as well as their transcription factors in Huh7 cells than TOWE, which means that TOEE might possess more functional phytochemicals than TOWE. Conclusion : Consequently, TOWE and TOEEattenuated metastatic activity of hepatocellular carcinoma through the regulation of EMT markers and their transcription factors in Huh7 cells, which means that T. officinale might be a promising strategy for a chemopreventive agent against HCC metastasis.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.285-290
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• 2023

In this study, the anti-inflammation efficacy of Lactobacillus johnsonii derived from Kimchi was investigated. Raw 264.7 cells, which are rat-derived macrophages, were treated with Lactobacillus johnsonii lysate to confirm the expression level of TNFα and IL1β, which are inflammatory markers, and when treating 250 ㎍/mL extract, the expression level of TNFα and IL1β decreased by 40.55% and 34.66% compared to the control group treated with 1 ㎍/mL LP, respectively. In addition, as a result of confirming the transcriptional activity of NF-κB, a key transcription factor in cytokine expression by LPS, it was confirmed that the transcriptional activity of NF-κB was 40.76% inhibited compared to the control group treated with 1 ㎍/mL LPS. Therefore, the results of this study confirmed that Lactobacillus johnsonii lysate is likely to be an anti-inflammatory or skin-soothing functional material by preventing the expression of cytokine by LPS and controlling NF-κB transcriptional activity.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.189-197
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• 2009

As the web service technology matures. research is focused on the composite web services that combine individual web services within an enterprise or between enterprises. Quality of service is the critical competitiveness factor in this mature technology stage where there are many services with similar functionalities differing only in some non-functional properties. Monitoring is the key component for the service quality management of a web service. A service quality monitoring system design using a broker is presented in this paper. OWL-S is used to specify the composite service process and a service policy (inputs and outputs of each service, quality attributes and values, etc.) built by WS-Policy is applied to the composite service process. If there is any discrepancy between the service policy and the monitored data, the service provider and the user are notified of it so as to take necessary measures. We have implemented a travel reservation system as an example of the presented design and the experimental results are shown. Average response time was monitored and the timeout policy was applied in the experiment.