• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1165-1176
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• 2019

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), produced by Clostridium botulinum, are the most toxic substances known. However, the number of currently approved medical countermeasures for these toxins is very limited. Therefore, studies on therapeutic antitoxins are essential to prepare for toxin-related emergencies. Currently, more than 10,000 Halla horses, a crossbreed between the native Jeju and Thoroughbred horses, are being raised in Jeju Island of Korea. They can be used for equine antitoxin experiments and production of hyperimmune serum against BoNT/A1. Instead of the inactivated BoNT/A1 toxoid, Halla horse was immunized with the receptor-binding domain present in the C-terminus of heavy chain of BoNT/A1 (BoNT/A1-HCR) expressed in Escherichia coli. The anti-BoNT/A1-HCR antibody titer increased rapidly by week 4, and this level was maintained for several weeks after boosting immunization. Notably, $20{\mu}l$ of the week-24 BoNT/A1-HCR(-immunized) equine serum showed an in vitro neutralizing activity of over 8 international units (IU) of a reference equine antitoxin. Furthermore, $20{\mu}l$ of equine serum and $100{\mu}g$ of purified equine $F(ab^{\prime})_2$ showed 100% neutralization of 10,000 $LD_{50}$ in vivo. The results of this study shall contribute towards optimizing antitoxin production for BoNT/A1, which is essential for emergency preparedness and response.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.268-276
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• 2019

Purpose: Metabolic syndrome causes diabetes and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study examined the correlation between metabolic syndrome, nutrition intake, and triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio. Methods: Using the data from the $7^{th}$ KNHANES (2016), this study was conducted on healthy adults aged 19 and older. The components and existence of metabolic syndrome and nutrition intake were independent variables and the TG/HDLcholesterol ratio was a dependent variable. A complex sample logistic progress test was used with age, sex, smoking, and drinking frequency corrected. Results: The TG/HDLcholesterol ratio of people with metabolic syndrome was as high as 1.314 on average, compared to people without metabolic syndrome (p < 0.0001). Among each component of metabolic syndrome, the TG/HDL cholesterol ratio had a significant association with fasting blood glucose, TG, HDL cholesterol, and waist circumference (p < 0.05). Only energy and carbohydrate intake were significantly related to the TG/HDLcholesterol ratio (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The TG/HDLcholesterol ratio is associated with each component of metabolic syndrome, but in particular, it is positively correlated with the presence of metabolic syndrome. Lower energy intakehad a positive correlation with the TG/HDLcholesterol ratio. These results show that metabolic syndrome can be predicted using the TG/HDLcholesterol ratio, and a diet strategy through nutrition and health education is necessary to prevent metabolic syndrome.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2019

Huge amount of persimmon peels, which are byproducts usually arising after making dried persimmons from fresh persimmons, are generated in fall, every year. As the dry matter of persimmon peel contains carbohydrates over 80%, it could be a good candidate for feed. In this study, we evaluated the persimmon peel as a feed resource for a hen laying eggs. Persimmon peel has lower ratio of crude protein and fat composition while higher ratio of crude fiber composition compared to a basal laying hen feed. Feeding the persimmon peel by adding to the feed at the level of 2% or 5% did not affect the egg-laying rate from beginning to the peak of laying. In addition, feeding the persimmon peel did not affect the egg quality either, as the pH, Haugh unit, yolk color and shell thickness of the egg were not different from each other. The composition of amino acids and fatty acids were also almost same for each other, except for the linolenic acid which was slightly higher in the persimmon peel feeding groups. In conclusion, addition of persimmon peel to the feed up to 5% might be helpful to increase the income and reduce the waste produced from the agricultural byproduct.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the current characteristics and prescriptions of outpatients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Methods: We searched medical records from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 and found out 31 patients who first visited with PCOS. Results: The average age of PCOS patients was $26.48{\pm}5.15years$ old, average height was $162.16{\pm}5.56cm$, average weight was $55.27{\pm}9.34kg$, and average BMI was $21.01{\pm}3.48kg/m^2$ A total of 24 patients who had received western treatment for PCOS in the past, 13 people received oral contraceptions, 4 hormones, 2 metformin, one hormone and metformin, also 4 people were treated for assisted reproductive technologies due to infertility. There were only two patients who combined Korean and Western treatments. The most common menstrual-related symptoms of PCOS patients were oligomenorrhea (48.4%) and dysmenorrhea (22.6%). Other symptoms were the highest in the cold symptoms (54.8%), followed by infertility (9.7%). The average number of patients visiting the hospital was $6.26{\pm}7.2$, with 22 (71.0%) coming from 1 to 5. The average treatment period for patients was $10.1{\pm}10.8weeks$, with 41.9% the largest for 1 to 4 weeks. Acupuncture (93.5%), moxibustion (96.8%) herbmed (96.8%) was treated to most PCOS patients. The most commonly used herbal medicines were Ongyeong-tang (35.5%), Ijin-tang-gami (19.4%), Dodam-tang-gami (12.9%), and Jogyeongjongok-tang-gami (12.9%). Conclusions: These results could be helpful to treat PCOS patients in Korean gynecologic clinical fields.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.82-91
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• 2018

Objectives: Synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to explore sleep stage dependent functional brain networks. Despite a growing number of sleep studies using EEG-fMRI, few studies have conducted network analysis on whole night sleep due to difficulty in data acquisition, artifacts, and sleep management within the MRI scanner. Methods: In order to perform network analysis for whole night sleep, we proposed experimental procedures and data processing techniques for EEG-fMRI. We acquired 6-7 hours of EEG-fMRI data per participant and conducted signal processing to reduce artifacts in both EEG and fMRI. We then generated a functional brain atlas with 68 brain regions using independent component analysis of sleep fMRI data. Using this functional atlas, we constructed sleep level dependent functional brain networks. Results: When we evaluated functional connectivity distribution, sleep showed significantly reduced functional connectivity for the whole brain compared to that during wakefulness. REM sleep showed statistically different connectivity patterns compared to non-REM sleep in sleep-related subcortical brain circuits. Conclusion: This study suggests the feasibility of exploring functional brain networks using sleep EEG-fMRI for whole night sleep via appropriate experimental procedures and signal processing techniques for fMRI and EEG.

• 재활복지
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.141-156
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the swallowing function with chronic stroke patient. Ten chronic stroke patients with dysphagia followed up for 3 months. Eight normal age match subjects were also participated. A total of 18 participated in this study and they were classified into two groups (stroke patient group and normal control group). Participants underwent videofluoroscopic swallowing examination. The swallowing function was evaluated over time. Oral transit duration, pharyngeal transit duration, laryngeal response duration, Modified Barium Swallowing Impairment Profile ($MBSImP^{TM(c)}$), and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) were applied. Chronic stroke patient group were showed significantly longer oral transit duration, pharyngeal transit duration and laryngeal response duration than normal control group at baseline. After 3 months in stroke patient group, the mean oral components score of MBSImP (1~5) significantly decreased and the mean score on FOIS increased compared to baseline. In conclusion, oral swallowing function and oral intake function improved by the 3 month evaluation. These results describe changes in swallowing function with chronic stroke patients over time and provide basic informations to understand dysphagia.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.477-483
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• 2018

Transcranial doppler is a non-invasive method that measures the blood flow velocity and the direction of cerebral blood vessels through the doppler principle. The pulsatility index is an index for measuring the transcranial doppler that reflects the distal vascular resistance and is used as an index for the presence and diffusion of cerebral small vessel diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors affecting the basilar artery pulsatility index in ischemic stroke patients. From January 2014 to May 2015, 422 patients were selected by measuring the transcranial doppler pulsatility index, considering their basilar artery pulsatility index. Univariate analysis was performed using the basilar artery pulsatility index as a dependent variable. Multiple regression analysis was performed considering the factors affecting the pulsatility index as variables. Univariate analysis revealed age, presence of hypertension, presence of diabetes mellitus, presence of hyperlipidemia, and hematocrit (P<0.1) as factors. Multiple regression analysis showed statistically significant results with age (P<0.001), presence of diabetes (P=0.004), and presence of hyperlipidemia (P=0.041). The risk factors affecting the basilar artery pulsatility index of transcranial doppler were age, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Further research will be needed to increase the cerebral pulsatility index as a surrogate marker of the elderly, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.

• Journal of Cadastre & Land InformatiX
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.197-211
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• 2018

We conducted this research to examine how well regional housing prices are suited to use as an alternative to conventional census-based regional deprivation indices in health and medical geography studies. To examine the relative performance of mean regional housing prices compared to conventional census-based regional deprivation indices, we compared several multilevel logistic regression models, where the first level was individuals and the second was health districts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) in Korea, for the sake of adjusting the regional clustering tendency of unknown factors. In these models, we predicted two dichotomous variables that represented individuals' after-lunch tooth brushing behavior and use of dental floss by individual characteristics and regional indices. Then, we compared the relative predictive performance of the models using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The results from the estimations showed that mean regional housing prices and census-based deprivation indices were correlated with the two types of dental health behavior in a statistical sense. The results also revealed that the model with mean regional housing prices showed smaller AIC and BIC compared with other models with conventional census-based deprivation indices. These results imply that it is possible for housing prices summarized using aerial units to be used as an alternative to conventional census-based deprivation indices when the census variables employed cannot properly reflect the characteristics of the aerial units.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.489-503
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to explore traumatic experiences and posttraumatic growth of nursing students who were in clinical training. The data were collected from 490 nursing students at four nursing colleges with clinical training experience more than 1 year, from November 20th 2017 to December 20th. Collected data were analyzed through t-test, ANOVA, and $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test with the SPSS/WIN 25.0 program, and qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. 26.5% of the subjects had traumatic experiences in their daily life, 61.2% in the clinical practice. Their posttraumatic growth was scored 2.63 out of 5 on average. The contents of traumatic experiences were 'Violence experienced by medical staff','Negative perception of nursing care','Non-Educational Practical Environment' Clinical practice in a harsh environment, Witness of a serious patient, et al. The findings can be used as important basic data for the development of nursing practice education program for encouraging the posttraumatic growth of nursing students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.325-332
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• 2019

This study analyzed the movement of tumors using 4DCT. Appropriate uniform IM were identified using TC, II and CI depending on ITV margins. DVH and NTCP were also compared in each case. Dose analysis on tumors with uniform IM showed that the optimal treatment plan for satisfying all TC, CI, II was evaluated as 2 mm in phase 20 and 3 mm in 40%. That was compared to the dose from the normal tissues of $PTV_{20}$, $PTV_{40}$. In the 20% radiation field, V5, V10, and V20 for the lungs increased 1.49, 1.26, and 0.65%, while 40% increased by 1.9, 2.41 and 1.23%. NTCP had a dose increase of 0.57 to 0.029% from 20% and 40%. There was a dose increase in the spinal cord and heart at uniform IM, but there was no significant difference. These data suggest that the ITV setting of 20%, phase for Respiratory Gated Radiotherapy using Novalis ExacTrac system can be applied with a uniform IM 2 mm and 40% with 3 mm for optimal treatment plan.