• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.734-738
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• 2011

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of invasive infection in young infants and older adults. There are currently 90 capsular serotypes identified and 23 serotypes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F) are responsible for about 90% of invasive disease. Among the more than 90 different S. pneumoniae serotypes, serotype 19A is globally very prevalent. A simplified purification procedure including adjustment of cell lysate pH to 4.5, fractionation with 50. 80% ethanol, and dialysis rendered capsular polysaccharide (CPS) in a yield of $31.32{\pm}3.11$ mg from 1 l culture (75% recovery after lyses). The product contained only 69.6 ${\mu}g$ of protein (99.78% purity) and 0.8mg (sum of the precipitants from 50~60%, 60~70%, and 70~80%) of nucleic acid (97.45% purity). The purified CPS was conjugated with bovine serum albumin; the product size ranged from 100 to 180 kDa.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.177-189
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• 2018

Objectives: To provide necessary information for stable establishment of the national dental scaling reimbursement system. Methods: This study was conducted in 380 adults in their twenties or older for about one month from July 2017. The questionnaires were composed of general characteristics, recognition (awareness) of dental scaling, knowledge of the dental scaling reimbursement program, changes in perception before versus after introduction of the dental scaling reimbursement program, and interest in oral health. To investigate into any factors affecting changes of interest in oral health care after introduction of the dental scaling reimbursement program, a multiple regression analysis was performed. Results: The investigation into any factors affecting changes of interest in oral health care after introduction of the dental scaling reimbursement program showed that higher usual interest in oral health (p<0.001) and the consideration that the dental scaling charges have been affordable after introduction of the scaling reimbursement program (p<0.01) led to more changes in interest in oral health care. Conclusions: The above-mentioned results suggest that the dental scaling reimbursement program has brought favorable changes in the perception of dental scaling. It is expected that the said program will contribute significantly to the improved national oral health, and the Government should make constant efforts to develop it as a long-term policy for oral health improvement.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The level of serum albumin is an index of nourishment care and management. However, the distribution and correlates of serum albumin levels among individuals with motor disorders have not been reported until now. Therefore, we examined the distribution and correlates of serum albumin levels among individuals with motor disorders. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional study on 249 individuals with motor disabilities (144 men, mean age: 51.4 years; 105 women, mean age: 51.4 years) was conducted at five institutions in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan in 2008. The results were compared with data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey. RESULTS: The mean serum albumin levels were $4.0{\pm}0.4g/dL$ for men and $3.8{\pm}0.5g/dL$ for women. Overall, 17 (11.8%) men and 25 (23.8%) women had hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin level ${\leq}3.5g/dL$); these proportions were greater than those among healthy Japanese adults (${\leq}1%$). Low serum albumin level was related with female sex, older age, low calf circumference, low relative daily energy intake, low hemoglobin (Hb), low blood platelet count, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low $HbA_{1c}$, and high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The strongest correlates, based on standardized betas, were Hb (0.321), CRP (-0.279), and HDL-C (0.279) levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the prevalence of hypoalbuminemia is higher in individuals with motor disabilities than in healthy individuals and that inflammation is a strong negative correlate of serum albumin levels. Therefore, inflammation should be examined for the assessment of hypoalbuminemia among institutionalized individuals with motor disabilities.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.222-232
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Since gain or loss of skeletal muscle mass is a gradual event and occurs due to a combination of lifestyle factors, assessment of dietary factors related to skeletal muscle is complicated. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in total energy intake according to the level of skeletal muscle mass. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 8,165 subjects ${\geq}30years$ of age from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) 2008-2011 were included in the analysis, and multivariate-adjusted regression analyses were performed to analyze the association of the quartiles of sarcopenia index (SI) with energy intake of the study population after adjusting for age and metabolic parameters. RESULTS: The increase in SI quartile was in proportion to the gradual decrease in systemic lipids and the anthropometric measurement of fat accumulation (P < 0.001). Subjects in higher SI quartiles tended to consume more total energy and energy-producing nutrients than those in lower quartiles (P < 0.001). After age, body weight, alcohol consumption, and metabolic parameters were adjusted in the analysis, total energy intake gradually increased according to the increase in SI quartile, and the association between total energy intake and SI was more pronounced in men. However, the risk (odd ratio) of having a low SI was not affected by any single macronutrient intake. CONCLUSION: In this study, total energy intake was positively associated with SI and relative skeletal mass in both men and women. However, no significant association or a weak association was observed between any single macronutrient intake and skeletal muscle mass. The data indicated that acquiring more energy intake within the normal range of energy consumption may help to maintain skeletal muscle mass.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.649-655
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• 1988

One hundred and one patients with tetralogy of Fallot who were older than 16 years of age underwent a total correction of the anomaly between May, 1964 and July, 1987. This group comprised 14.9% of the 679 consecutive patients who had repair of the tetralogy at our institution during the same period. Of the 101 patients, 8 had a previous shunt procedure for palliation. The preoperative mean hemoglobin value was 16.9*1.0% and the mean systemic oxygen saturation, 84.4*0.9%. In 76 patients[75.2%], a type II ventricular septal defect was seen whereas in 14 patients[13.9%], the defect was type I. In 72 patients[71.3%], other cardiac anomalies were present which included patent foramen ovale in 37.6%, atrial septal defect in 8.99b, vegetations in 6.9%, right sided aortic arch in 5.9% and coronary artery anomaly in 5.0%. The right ventricular outflow obstruction was caused most commonly by combination of infundibular and valvular stenosis[74.3%], followed by isolated infundibular stenosis[19.8%] and valvular stenosis [5.9%] alone in order. The preoperative mean diameter of the pulmonary valve ring size was 10.2*0.5 mm in diameter. A transannular patch enlargement of the right ventricular outflow tract was performed in 28 patients and, in 12 a pericardial monocusp was utilized. Major anomalous aorto-pulmonary vessels were encountered in 5 patients which were detected before or during the operation. In 3 patients, they were ligated beforehand to control the flooding of the operative field. Postoperatively, the mean systolic pressure gradient between the right ventricle and the main pulmonary artery was 16.2*2.3 mmHg and the mean systolic pressure- ratio between the right and the left ventricle was 45.3*2.0%. Perioperative complications including bleeding in 8.9%, pleural effusion in 7.9%, dysrrhythmia in 4.9%, and residual VSD in 4.0%. Operative mortality was 8.9%. There has been no operative death in the recent 65 cases since 1981. There were 2 late deaths, 68 and 113 months after surgery. There were 2 late detachment of the VSD patch during the follow-up period. Of the 6 patients with patch detachment found during the postoperative period, 3 had subacute bacterial endocarditis before or after the operation indicating The serious nature of this complication. Two of these patients subsequently underwent a successful reoperation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.110-118
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• 2020

Migration presents a substantial social and public health issue. However, it is unclear whether diabetes is worse among Asian migrants than natives of South Korea over time. This longitudinal study investigated the nationwide population, including 2,680,495 adults aged 20 years and older (987,214 Asian migrants and 1,693,281 natives), who received health check-ups, using the Korean National Health Insurance Service data (2009-2015). Joinpoint regression was used to estimate the annual percentage change of diabetes, and multivariable logistic regression was used to examine differences in incident type 2 diabetes between Asian migrants and natives adjusting for age, sex, economic status, body mass index, smoking status, any alcohol use, and physical activity. The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes increased among native men (from 8.8% in 2009 to 9.7% in 2015, APC=1.64, p<0.05) compared to Asian migrant men, and the age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes increased among native women (from 6.0% in 2009 to 6.7% in 2015, APC=1.88, p<0.05) compared to Asian migrant women. In the multivariate analyses, Asian migrants were less likely to get type 2 diabetes than natives (odds ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.86) between the first and last health check-ups. However, the odds ratio for developing type 2 diabetes was 1.15 (95% CI, 1.10 to 1.20) among low-income levels compared to high-income levels, regardless of whether they were Asian migrants or natives. The results could help to establish a new strategy for prevention, treatment, and management of diabetes among the Asian population.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.282-293
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• 2012

Purpose: The study aimed to examine the effects of Tai Chi fall prevention program on risk factors for fall, fear of falling, and quality of life among elderly women living in the community. Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with non-equivalent control group was used. Sixty participants were recruited from 4 senior citizen centers in a city. The 1-hour Tai Chi fall prevention program was provided three times a week for 6 months to the experimental group. Risk factors for fall including fracture risk and bone mineral density, fear of falling, and quality of life were measured at the baseline and at 6 months. Results: Participants were 75 years old in average. At the completion of 6 month program, the experimental group showed lower fracture risks, less fear of falling, and higher scores in several domains of quality of life than the control group, after controlling for the pretest scores, fall experience, and regular exercise habit. Conclusion: The Tai Chi fall prevention program was safely applied to elderly women with improvement in fracture risk, fear of falling, and several domains of quality of life. Future study is necessary to confirm the longer effect of the Tai Chi program for the prevention of fall episodes.

• Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.289-298
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• 2018

Objectives: To describe the distribution of social factors, lifestyle habits and anthropometric measurements according to hypertension and Type-2 diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gaza City, Palestine that included 379 patients (20-60 years) who had hypertension and/or diabetes. Three groups of patients were involved; 106 hypertensive (HT), 109 diabetic (T2DM) and 164 hypertensive diabetics (HT + T2DM). Results: The HT + T2DM group were older and had a higher body mass index compared to HT and T2DM groups. There were 62.3% patients who were female, 49.2% were highly educated HT patients, and 49.3% patients had a low level of education and were HT + T2DM. There were 55.8% patients who lived in large families. Patients who were passive smokers or never smoked before were mostly HT + T2DM, while active smokers and past smokers had T2DM. There were 48.2% patients who were highly physically active who had HT, 40.9% whom were moderately active had T2DM, and 53.8% of patients who had a low level of activity were HT + T2DM. Multivariate linear regression showed that having a diseased mother, living in a large family, being a past or passive smoker, or never having smoked, having a low or moderate level of activity, and having HT or HT + T2DM, were significantly associated with an increased body mass index. Conclusion: Parental health/disease conditions and environmental factors (social network and lifestyle habits) played the greatest role in the development of obesity and disease.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.17-24
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• 2018

Objectives: After many national physical activity guidelines have established, recent changes are deep and rapid. So the major features and implication to reverse worsening Korean physical activity indicator is desprate but related knowledge and informations are few. So review of recent features and implications of new physical activity guidelines have made. Methods: National physical activity guidelines of advanced countries were searched through snowballing methods. Major features were described according to the nation. Implication were drew through discussion for Korean realitiy. Results: New Australian physical activity and sedentary behaviour guideline explicitly included sedentary behaviour. The age in the guideline expanded to early years. Canada also presented 24-hour movement guidelines to early years. The second generation of the physical activity guidelines reflects the extensive amount of new knowledge. New aspects include discussions of additional health benefits related to brain health, additional cancer sites, and fall-related injuries; immediate and longer term benefits for how people feel, function, and sleep; further benefits among older adults and people with additional chronic conditions; risks of sedentary behavior and their relationship with physical activity; elimination of the requirement for physical activity benefits to occur in bouts of at least 10 minutes; and tested strategies that can be used to get the population more active. Conclusions: The most important message from the new guidelines is that the greatest health benefits accrue by moving from no, to even small amounts of, physical activity. Multiple studies demonstrate that the steepest reduction in disease risk occurs at the lowest levels of physical activity. People need to understand that even small amounts of physical activity are beneficial and that reductions in the risk of disease and disability occur by simply getting moving. So various evidence based proven strstegies are needed in Korea including workforce training.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.207-217
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• 2021

Objectives: The objective of this study was to perform a scoping review to describe clinical study trends on Qigong in order to identify further directions of Qigong in Korean medicine. Methods: Under the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework, PubMed was searched to identify articles published from January 1, 2019 to June 28, 2021. A total of 224 articles were retrieved. Results were systematically filtered by two independent reviewers based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. Publication information, disease, intervention and research results of a total of 153 articles were extracted and analyzed. Results: Asia had the largest number of Qigong studies (82 studies, 65%). Most research studies were conducted in the academic field of Medicine (n=109, 86.5%), including Complementary and Alternative Medicine (n=35), Medicine (miscellaneous) (n=15), and Oncology (n=15). Based on ICD-10 classification, Mental and Behavioral Disorder (n=25, 19.8%) was the most frequently analyzed decease, followed by Neoplasm (n=24) and Disease of the Nervous system (n=12). Almost half of all studies were Systematic Reviews. RCTs only accounted for 25.4%. Interventions were very diverse and inconsistent. Sixty (47.6%) studies analyzed Qigong as a single intervention. In 66 cases, Qigong was analyzed as part of a large category such as Mind-Body intervention. Most studies designed a Donggong (動功) program. The age of the population was relatively high as 47.1% of all studies were conducted on middle aged or older adults. Conclusions: These findings suggest that further standardized research on Qigong, especially Junggong (靜功), needs to be conducted by developing research protocols and practice programs to verify effects of Qigong and utilize Qigong as a medical intervention in Korean Medicine.