• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.508-513
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• 2010

Cytokines are important mediators of the immune response, and quantitating cytokine mRNA is a highly sensitive and attractive method for measuring cytokine production. The objective of the current study was to develop and validate a SYBR green quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) assay for measuring canine cytokine mRNA. The optimal annealing temperatures ($T_a$) of the designed primers were $62^{\circ}C$ for interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 and IL-10; $60^{\circ}C$ for glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$; and $58^{\circ}C$ for high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Primer efficiencies of all primers calculated for standard curve samples were between 97.1% and 102.6%. No evidence of secondary structure or primer-dimer formation was seen via melt-curve analysis or gel electrophoresis. The developed qRT-PCR assays are highly specific and sensitive and can be used to quantify gene expression levels of canine cytokines.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 1999

The changes of antibody titer were observed in rats which were experimentally infected with Echinostoma hortense metacercaria. Serum levels of IgG and IgM were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mean absorbance values obtained for specific-IgG were from 0.130$\pm$0.014 (mean$\pm$S.D.) to 0.480$\pm$0.073. The peak appeared in the 4th week after infection, then declined slowly during the 5th and 6th week, although mild elevation apperared in the 8th week. The mean absorbance values of specific-IgM were detected from 0.160$\pm$0.034 to 0.409$\pm$0.084. The peak value (0.409$\pm$0.084) was on the 14th day after infection, then declined on the 8th week. Results showed that the assay could be used for detection of E. hortense infection in experimentally infected rats or laboratory experiments where evidence of infection is required.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2002

For Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy(IMRT), the spatial resolution of intensity map(IM) is limited by the width of multi-leaf collimator, which would make an effect on the conformity of the target, as well as organs at risk. Several Methods are suggested to increase the spatial resolution, which can be categorized by the hardware-dependent technique and the software-based technique. However the best solution might be to make the width of MLC finer. it has several obstacles in the respects of technical difficulty and cost. This preliminary study is designed to investigate the clinical effectiveness of the virtual-micro IMRT(VMIMRT) technique, one of the software-based technique. A particular intensity map was created, which has 42$\times$54 pixel dimension ,0.5cm pixel size and 15 intensity levels. Using this intensity map, segment fields of IMRT were generated with 1$\times$lcm, 0.5$\times$1cm, 0.5$\times$0.5cm(VMIM) beamlet size, respectively As results, we found that there was no evidence of improvement for VMIMRT, compared with the 0.5$\times$lcm beamlet size which can be delivered by 1cm width MLC. The reason seems to be due to the constraint of VMIMRT. Further study is required to prove the benefit of the VIMRT in clinical case like head and neck cancer, where is expected that higher resolution than 1cm is necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.212-228
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• 2004

This paper is concerned with an important aspect of regional income convergence, ${\beta}$-convergence, which refers to the negative relationship between initial income levels and income growth rates of regions over a period of time. The common research framework on ${\beta}$-convergence which is based on OLS regression models has two drawbacks. First, it ignores spatially autocorrelated residuals. Second, it does not provide any way of exploring spatial heterogeneity across regions in terms of ${\beta}$-convergence. Given that empirical studies on ${\beta}$-convergence need to be edified by spatial data analysis, this paper aims to: (1) provide a critical review of empirical studies on ${\beta}$-convergence from a spatial perspective; (2) investigate spatio-temporal income dynamics across the U.S. labor market areas for the last 30 years (1969-1999) by fitting spatial regression models and applying bivariate ESDA techniques. The major findings are as follows. First, the hypothesis of ${\beta}$-convergence was only partially evidenced, and the trend substantively varied across sub-periods. Second, a SAR model indicated that ${\beta}$-coefficient for the entire period was not significant at the 99％ confidence level, which may lead to a conclusion that there is no statistical evidence of regional income convergence in the US over the last three decades. Third, the results from bivariate ESDA techniques and a GWR model report that there was a substantive level of spatial heterogeneity in the catch-up process, and suggested possible spatial regimes. It was also observed that the sub-periods showed a substantial level of spatio-temporal heterogeneity in ${\beta}$-convergence: the catch-up scenario in a spatial sense was least pronounced during the 1980s.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 1972

Seasonal changes in nutrients and suspended organic particulates were measured in the estuary of Nak-dong River in relation to the black laver bed. Monthly measurements of water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients ( $NH_4$-N, $NO_2$-N, $NO_3$\-N, $PO_4$-P and $SiO_2$-Si) and organic suspended particulates (organic carbon and nitrogen) were determined at five stations from February through December, 1970. PH varied 7.6-8.4 with an average of 8.0, and percent saturation of dissolved oxygen were 71-147% with an average of 100.8%. Studies gave evidence that Nak-dong River estuary is strongly enriched with nutrients. Concentrations of nutrients were: 0.13-12.54 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 1.63 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for $NH_4-N$, 0.12-2.09 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 0.71 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for $NO_2-N$, 3.46-56.79 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 21.54 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for $NO_3$-N, 4.04-57.90 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 23.79 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for total soluble nitrogen, 0.18-5.05 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 0.96 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for $PO_4$-P, and 18.33-133.29 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$ (averaging 71.57 ${\mu}g$-atoms/${\iota}$) for $SiO_2$-Si, respectively. These nutrient levels were considerably higher compare with other productive laver beds of Wan do and Pyung-il Do in Korea or Ise Bay in Japan. Concentrations of suspended organic particulates varied 55-648 ${\mu}g/{\iota}$ (averaging 392 ${\mu}g/{\iota}$) with organic carbon, 30-155 ${\mu}g/{\iota}$ (averaging 92 ${\mu}g/{\iota}$) with organic nitrogen, and its carbon-nitrogen ratios were varied within 1.5-8.4 with an average of 4.6.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.523-532
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• 2022

Vitamin C is an important physiological antioxidant which neutralizes reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduces the oxidative stress in the body. Although it has been associated with various diseases, few studies have reported the dose-response relationship between vitamin C intake, storage and functions in the body, including its antioxidant function. The criteria to establish the Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) for vitamin C were based on the changes in plasma concentrations and saturation of leukocytes according to intake levels and the effects on antioxidant capacity and risk of metabolic diseases. When establishing the 2020 vitamin C KDRI, while there was no change in the criteria from those of 2015, the reference values were recalculated and revised to reflect changes such as the new standard weight by age. As the number of people consuming dietary supplements has increased over the last decade, only about 10% of adults consume less than the average total vitamin C, but the proportion of adolescents and elderly who consume less than the average is high. On the other hand, as the intake of vitamin C supplements increases, the proportion of people consuming excessive vitamin C is also increasing. There is a body of opinion that it is necessary to establish a vitamin C KDRI for smokers or people with chronic diseases such as the metabolic syndrome, but these standards have not been established due to the lack of supporting scientific evidence. As a result, studies to establish vitamin C KDRI for Korean smokers and patients with the metabolic syndrome, as well as studies on the excessive intake of vitamin C due to supplementation and interactions with other nutrients, are needed.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.32 no.1 s.55
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• pp.17-22
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• 2006

Phosphatidyiserine (PS) is a phospholipid which plays the structural role in membranes and serves as a cofactor of signaling enzymes for diverse cellular functions. In this study, we observed that topical treatment with PS significantly decreased trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) induced by tape-stripping in hairless mice. Also, ceramides in epidermis were increased in PS-treated group compared to vehicle-treated one in vivo. the amounts of non-hydroxyl ceramide (NHCER) (1.4 fold) and glucosylceramide (glucosylCER) (1.6 fold), in the skin of hairless mice, were increased by topical treament with PS. Also, we demonstrated that PS stimulated keratinocyte differentiation. We observed that PS treatment morphologically altered normal human keratinocyte (NHK) from the proliferating phase to the differentiating one, suggesting that PS stimulated epidermal differentiation in NHK. We also showed that the expressions of the specific markers for epidermal differentiation, involucrin (INV) (3.5 fold up) and transglutaminase 1 (TG'ase 1) (3 fold up), were significantly increased by PS treatment, compared to untreated control in vitro. In addition, topical treatment with PS resulted in a progressive increase in INV and loricrin protein levels in vivo. In conclusion, we provide the first evidence for the physiological activities of PS in skin, and we suggest that PS strengthen the epidermal permeability harrier by stimulation of keratinocyte differentiation.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.201-210
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• 2016

Delirium is a common symptom in patients with terminal cancer. The prevalence increases in the dying phase. Delirium causes negative effects on quality of life for both patients and their families, and is associated with higher mortality. However, some studies reported that it tends to remain unrecognized in palliative care setting. That may be related with difficulties to distinguish the symptom from others with overlapping characteristics such as depression and dementia, and a lack of knowledge regarding assessment and diagnostic tools. We suggest that accurate recognition with validated tools and early diagnosis of the symptom should be highly prioritized in delirium management in palliative care setting. After diagnosing delirium, it is important to identify and address reversible precipitants such as medication, dehydration, and infection. Non-pharmacological interventions including comfortable environment for the patient and family education are also essential in the management strategy. If such interventions prove ineffective or insufficient to control hyperactive symptoms, pharmacologic interventions with antipsychotics and benzodiazepine can be considered. Until now, low levels of haloperidol remains the standard treatment despite a lack of evidence. Atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone reportedly have similar efficacy with a stronger sedating property and less adverse effect compared to haloperidol. Currently, delirium medications that can be used in palliative care setting require more clinical trials, and thus, clinical guidelines are not sufficiently available. We suggest that it is warranted to develop clinical guidelines based on well-designed clinical studies for palliative care patients.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2004

Characterization of quantitative trait loci (QTL) was investigated in the experimental cross population between Berkshire and Yorkshire breed. A total of 512 F$_2$ offspring from 65 matting of F$_1$ parents were phenotyped the carcass traits included average daily gain (ADG), average backfat thickness (ABF), tenth rip backfat thickness (TRF), loin eye area (LEA), and last rip backfat thickness (LRF). All animals were genotyped for 125 markers across the genome. Marker linkage maps were derived and used in QTL analysis based on line cross least squares regression interval mapping. A decision tree to identify QTL with imprinting effects was developed based on tests against the Mendelian mode of QTL expression. To set the evidence of QTL presence, empirical significance thresholds were derived at chromosome-wise and genome-wise levels using specialized permutation strategies. Significance thresholds derived by the permutation test were validated in the data set based on simulation of a pedigree and data structure similar to the Berkshire-Yorkshire population. Genome scan revealed significant evidences for 13 imprinted QTLs affecting growth and body compositions of which nine were identified to be QTL with paternally expressed inheritance mode. Four of QTLs in the loin eye area (LEA), and tenth rip backfat thickness (TRF), a maternally expressed QTL were found on chromosome 10 and 12. These results support the useful statistical models to analyse the imprinting far the QTLs related carcass trait.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.526-534
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• 2019

This study was undertaken to identify knowledge, attitude, perception and nursing practice toward use of physical restraints, among nurses in long-term care hospitals. We further explored the impact of factors associated with nursing practice toward use of physical restraints. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which self-administered questionnaires were collected from 128 nurses working at 11 long-term care hospitals. Descriptive statistics, including t-test, one-way ANOVA, Welch's test, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression, were applied to analyze the data collected. Our results reveal that the participants possess moderate levels of knowledge, attitude, perception and nursing practice toward use of physical restraints. Significant positive correlations were observed between nursing practice and knowledge. Multiple regression analysis showed that the factors significantly related to nursing practice and use of physical restraint were knowledge (${\beta}=0.27$, p=0.002) and attitude (${\beta}=-0.17$, p=0.044), having a total explained variance of 9.0%. The findings from this study suggest that knowledge is the strongest predictor on nursing practice toward use of physical restraints. Thus, we propose that developing and applying evidence-based educational intervention programs to reduce the use of physical restraints in long-term care hospitals are required.