• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.116-122
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• 2013

This study was conducted to determine whether CD4 T cell responses to citrullinated fibrinogen occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially in HLA-DR4-positive subjects. Whole peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of RA patients and control subjects were stimulated with citrullinated fibrinogen peptides, and T-cell production of proliferation and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interferon-${\gamma}$(IFN-${\gamma}$) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A), were measured. In addition, CD4 T cells from RA patients were stimulated with the citrullinated fibrinogen peptide, $Fib-{\alpha}$ R84Cit, identified as a DRB1*0401-restricted T cell epitope in HLA-DR4 transgenic mice, and the degree of T cell activation was examined similarly. No proliferative responses to the citrullinated fibrinogen peptides were observed in whole PBMCs or CD4 T cells from RA patients. Furthermore, no increased production of IFN-${\gamma}$ or IL-17A was found in whole PBMCs or CD4 T cells stimulated with the citrullinated fibrinogen peptides, although these cells responded to recall antigen, a mixture of tetanus toxoid, purified protein derivative (PPD) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Candida albicans. The results of this study indicate that anti-citrulline immunity in RA patients may be mediated by fibrinogen because there is no evidence of CD4 T cell-mediated immune responses to citrullinated fibrinogen peptides.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.122-130
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• 2011

Objective: Although recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has revolutionized the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving hemodialysis (HD) with no need of blood transfusion, some patients have a blunted or appear to be resistant to rhEPO. There is a controversy in the causes of rhEPO resistance in maintenance HD patients with anemia. This study is to examine current anemia treatment outcomes and the factors influencing the rhEPO responsiveness in HD patient with CKD. Methods: The clinical parameters or factors relating to erythrompoietin treatment outcomes and erythropoietin responsiveness were collected from the HD patients in two large dialysis centers for three months. The collected paramenters included serum iron, total iron biding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation rate, ferritin, albumin, intact PTH, C-reactive protein (CRP), nPCR and medications such as an angiotensin converting enzyme inhbitor, an angiotension II receptor blocker and an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (HMG-CoA RI). The data were analyzed to examine the degree of acheiveing the anemia treatment goal and factors relating to ERI. Results: Among total 111 patients, 42 (42.3%) and 47 (37.8%) patients achieved the target Hct and Hb based on the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services (HIRA) reimbursement criteria. In the higher ERI group (upper quartile), the patients had higher CRP levels (0.5 mg/dl) (p=0.0096), and lower TIBC score (<$240{\mu}g/dl$) (p=0.0027), and less patients were taking HMG-CoA RI (p=0.0019). Male patients (p=0.0204), patients with high TIBC score ($R^2$=0.084, p=0.0021) and patients taking HMG-CoA RI (p=0.0052) required to administer less dose of rhEPO meaning higher erythropoietin responsiveness. Conclusion: Less than 50% of CKD patients were achieving the goals of anemia by erythropoietin administration in large hospitals in Korea even though the goals were lower than those of NKF-K/DOQI practice guideline. The factors influencing ERI were sex, TIBC and HMG-CoA RI administration status, and neither an ACEI nor an ARB did not influence ERI.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.135-139
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• 2015

A total of 1,708 small mammals (1,617 rodents and 91 soricomorphs), including Apodemus agrarius (n = 1,400), Microtus fortis (167), Crocidura lasiura (91), Mus musculus (32), Myodes (= Eothenomys) regulus (9), Micromys minutus (6), and Tscherskia (= Cricetulus) triton (3), were live-trapped at US/Republic of Korea (ROK) military training sites near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province from December 2004 to December 2009. Small mammals were examined for their intestinal nematodes by necropsy. A total of 1,617 rodents (100%) and 91 (100%) soricomorphs were infected with at least 1 nematode species, including Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Syphacia obvelata, Heterakis spumosa, Protospirura muris, Capillaria spp., Trichuris muris, Rictularia affinis, and an unidentified species. N. brasiliensis was the most common species infecting small mammals (1,060; 62.1%) followed by H. polygyrus (617; 36.1%), S. obvelata (370; 21.7%), H. spumosa (314; 18.4%), P. muris (123; 7.2%), and Capillaria spp. (59; 3.5%). Low infection rates (0.1-0.8%) were observed for T. muris, R. affinis, and an unidentified species. The number of recovered worms was highest for N. brasiliensis (21,623 worms; mean 20.4 worms/infected specimen) followed by S. obvelata (9,235; 25.0 worms), H. polygyrus (4,122; 6.7 worms), and H. spumosa (1,160; 3.7 worms). A. agrarius demonstrated the highest prevalence for N. brasiliensis (70.9%), followed by M. minutus (50.0%), T. triton (33.3%), M. fortis (28.1%), M. musculus (15.6%), C. lasiura (13.2%), and M. regulus (0%). This is the first report of nematode infections in small mammals captured near the DMZ in ROK.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.47 no.12
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• pp.823-829
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• 2009

Purpose : The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival rate of sintered porous-surfaced implants placed in the edentulous posterior mandibles, in relation to implant length and diameter, crown-to-implant ratio, and types of prostheses, for a maximum of eight years of functioning. Material and Methods : The study group consisted of 43 partially edentulous patients who visited Catholic University Hospital of Daegu and one private dental clinic. A total of 122 sintered porous-surfaced implants n $Endopore^{(R)}$ (Inn ova Life Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) -- were placed in the edentulous posterior mandibles, Two diameter sizes (4.1 mm and 5.0 mm) and four lengths (5.0 mm, 7.0 mm, 9.0 mm, and 12.0 mm) were used. One hundred and three implants were splinted and 21 implants were nonsplinted. The survival rates of the implants in relation to length, diameter, crown-to-implant ratio, and types of prostheses were investigated. Statistical data were analyzed using SPSS Win.Ver 14.0 software with the Chi-square test. Results : The survival rate of the 4.1mm diameter implants was 100% and 91.2% for the 5.0mm diameter implants. The survival rates of the implants of differing diameters were found to be statistically different (p=0.005). The survival rates of both the 5.0mm and 7.0 mm length implants were 100%. The survival rate of the 9.0mm length implants was 97.9% and for the 12.0mm length implants was 95.1%. There was no statistical difference in survival rates for the differing lengths of implants. Of the 103 prostheses that were splinted, the survival rate was 98.0%. The survival rate of splinted prostheses was higher than that of the non-splinted prostheses, but was found to be not statistically different. There were no failed cases when the crown-to-implant ratio was under 1.0. When the crown-to-implant ratio was between 1.0 and 1.5, the failure rate of the implants was 6.7%. No failure was recorded with the ratio range of 1.5 to 2.0. Relative to the crown-to-implant ratio of 1.0, the failure rates were statistically different (p=0.048). Discussion and Conclusion : The cumulative survival rate of the porous-surfaced implants placed in the edentulous posterior mandibles was 97.5%. Short porous-surfaced implants showed satisfactory results after a maximum of nine years of functioning in the edentulous posterior mandibles.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.122-127
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• 2009

This study was to separate wild yeast from the Houttuynia Cordata Thunb(HC) extracts fermented in traditional way and investigate the characteristics of fermentation from the HC extracts. As a result, the longer the cultivation time, the more the contents of alcohol in $15^{\circ}Brix$ sugar solutions increased. When it reached to 90 hours since it cultivated, it ranked HCE 12%, HCD 11.2%, and HCA 10.5% in order. As for HCF, HCG, HCB, and HCC), this study has shown that the contents of alcohol were from 7.5% through 8.5%. As a result of selecting germ strains like HCE and HCD with the highest alcohol-genicity in the sugar solutions as separated yeast from HC and of comparing and reviewing the existing Saccharomyces germ strains and fermentation power in the medium of HC(Juice extraction of HC : Distilled water(1:1), this study has found out that 'pH' decreased from $4.09{\sim}4.12$ before fermentation through $3.57{\sim}3.78$ after fermentation. And, the sugar concentration decreased from $15.00{\sim}15.19^{\circ}Brix$ through $7.75{\sim}9.57^{\circ}Brix$ before fermentation. Also, the acid value increased from $0.138{\sim}0.210%$ before fermentation through $0.282{\sim}0.45%$ after fermentation. In addition, as the contents of alcohol became $3.6{\sim}4.6%$ after fermentation, isolates HCD and HCE from HC had higher value rather than ones of DJ97, YJK, R12, and RCY separated from persimmons, apples, and grapes. The result value of color was minimum $4.75{\pm}1.44$ and maximum $6.85{\pm}1.63$, and HCE marked the highest record among the items of sensory evaluation. The overall acceptability was in normal level like minimum $3.95{\pm}1.17$ and maximum $5.00{\pm}1.41$. It is considered as it could lower sensory evaluation because the acceptability of flavor was not satisfied. After all, the significance(p<0.05) among the germ strains was not recognized in aspects of color, flagrance, flavor, and overall acceptability.