• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.362-369
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• 2019

Background: Chronic nonspecific symptoms attributed to indoor nonindustrial work environments are common and may cause disability, but the medical nature of this disability is unclear. The aim was to medically characterize the disability manifested by chronic, recurrent symptoms and restrictions to work participation attributed to low-level indoor pollutants at workplace and whether the condition shares features with idiopathic environmental intolerance. Methods: We investigated 12 patients with indoor aire-related work disability. The examinations included somatic, psychological, and psychiatric evaluations as well as investigations of the autonomic nervous system, cortisol measurements, lung function, and allergy tests. We evaluated well-being, health, disability, insomnia, pain, anxiety, depression, and burnout via questionnaires. Results: The mean symptom history was 10.5 years; for disabling symptoms, 2.7 years. Eleven patients reported reactions triggered mainly by indoor molds, one by fragrances only. Ten reported sensitivity to odorous chemicals, and three, electric devices. Nearly all had co-occurrent somatic and psychiatric diagnoses and signs of pain, insomnia, burnout, and/or elevated sympathetic responses. Avoiding certain environments had led to restrictions in several life areas. On self-assessment scales, disability showed higher severity and anxiety showed lower severity than in physician assessments. Conclusion: No medical cause was found to explain the disability. Findings support that the condition is a form of idiopathic environmental intolerance and belongs to functional somatic syndromes. Instead of endless avoidance, rehabilitation approaches of functional somatic syndromes are applicable.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2020

Background and Objectives The ultimate goal in current skin rejuvenation practice is to achieve a good result with minimal pain and downtime. Nonablative skin rejuvenation (NSR) is one technique. The efficacy of the long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser (LPNDY) has not been assessed in NSR. Materials and Methods Three target areas were selected (bilateral cheeks and glabellar region) in six volunteer subjects. A LPNDY with an integral skin temperature monitor delivered three stacked shots to each target area (1064 nm, 12 mm spot, 13 J/cm², 1 Hz) without any skin cooling or anesthesia. The skin temperature was recorded before, during, and after each set of shots using the system monitor and in real-time using a high-sensitivity (±0.001℃) near-infrared video camera. The skin reaction was observed with the naked eye, and pain and discomfort were assessed by the subjects during and after treatment. Results The subjects reported a mild feeling of heat with no discomfort during or after the test treatments. Mild erythema was observed around the treatment areas, without noticeable edema. A series of three ascending skin temperature stepwise peaks, with a decrease in skin temperature towards the baseline after the third shot, was observed consistently. The mean temperatures for shots 1, 2, and 3 for the cheeks were 39.5℃, 42.0℃, and 44.4℃, respectively, and for the glabella, 40.8℃, 43.9℃, and 46.2℃, respectively. Similar ranges were indicated on the system integral temperature monitor. Conclusion A set of three stacked pulses with the LPNDY at a low fluence achieved ideal dermal temperatures to achieve some dermal remodeling but without any downtime or adverse events. The temperature data from the integral thermal sensor matched the video camera measurements with practical accuracy for skin rejuvenation requirements. These data suggest that LPNDY would satisfy the necessary criteria to achieve effective NSR, but further studies will be needed to assess the actual results in clinical practice.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.387-393
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• 2013

Objectives : This study was carried out to investigate stepwise regression analysis on cervical abrasion & general characteristics, subjective oral health perception, habit related to oral health, and oral symptom. Methods : The study subjects were 2,158 workers in 23 industrial work places located in Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province from June 1 to July 1, 2012. As a result, the following conclusions were obtained. Results : 1. The cervical abrasion rate was high in men and older age group. 2. The cervical abrasion rate was high in a case of having not received scaling for the past one year. 3. The cervical abrasion rate was high in frequent tooth brushing. 4. The cervical abrasion rate was high in group having no bleeding in tooth and the gum. 5. The cervical abrasion rate was high in group having the cold symptom in teeth. 6. Excluding gum pain and bleeding, factors affecting tooth abrasion were gender, age, scaling over the past year, frequency of brushing a day and tooth sensitivity when cold food was ingested. 7. Gender and tooth sensitivity turned out to have negative(-) effect. age, scaling over the past year and frequency of brushing a day turned out to have positive(+) effect. Conclusions : Through this study, the best prevention method of cervical abrason is effective tooth brushing education and regular dental check up.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.115-127
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• 2016

Shoulder pain, injury and discomfort are public health and economic issues world-wide. The function of these joints and the stresses developed during their movement is a major concern to the orthopedic surgeon to study precisely the injury mechanisms and thereby analyze the post-operative progress of the injury. Shoulder is one of the most critical joints in the human anatomy with maximum degrees of freedom. It mainly consists of the clavicle, scapula and humerus; the articulations linking them; and the muscles that move them. In order to understand the behavior of individual muscle during abduction arm movement, an attempt has been made to analyze the stresses developed in the shoulder muscles during abduction arm movement during the full range of motion by using the 3D FEM model. 3D scanning (ATOS III scanner) is used for the 3D shoulder joint cad model generation in CATIA V5. Muscles are added and then exported to the ANSYS APDL solver for stress analysis. Sensitivity Analysis is done for stress and strain behavior amongst different shoulder muscles; deltoid, supraspinatus, teres minor, infraspinatus, and subscapularies during adduction arm movement. During the individual deltoid muscle analysis, the von Mises stresses induced in deltoid muscle was maximum (4.2175 MPa) and in group muscle analysis it was (2.4127MPa) compared to other individual four rotor cuff muscles. The study confirmed that deltoid muscle is more sensitive muscle for the abduction arm movement during individual and group muscle analysis. The present work provides in depth information to the researchers and orthopedicians for the better understanding about the shoulder mechanism and the most stressed muscle during the abduction arm movement at different ROM. So during rehabilitation, the orthopedicians should focus on strengthening the deltoid muscles at earliest.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.168-177
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• 2019

Dysregulation of excitatory neurotransmission has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. Pharmacological inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is widely used to model neurobehavioral pathologies and underlying mechanisms. There is ample evidence that overstimulation of NMDA-dependent neurotransmission may induce neurobehavioral abnormalities, such as repetitive behaviors and hypersensitization to nociception and cognitive disruption, pharmacological modeling using NMDA has been limited due to the induction of neurotoxicity and blood brain barrier breakdown, especially in young animals. In this study, we examined the effects of intraperitoneal NMDA-administration on nociceptive and repetitive behaviors in ICR mice. Intraperitoneal injection of NMDA induced repetitive grooming and tail biting/licking behaviors in a dose- and age-dependent manner. Nociceptive and repetitive behaviors were more prominent in juvenile mice than adult mice. We did not observe extensive blood brain barrier breakdown or neuronal cell death after peritoneal injection of NMDA, indicating limited neurotoxic effects despite a significant increase in NMDA concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid. These findings suggest that the observed behavioral changes were not mediated by general NMDA toxicity. In the hot plate test, we found that the latency of paw licking and jumping decreased in the NMDA-exposed mice especially in the 75 mg/kg group, suggesting increased nociceptive sensitivity in NMDA-treated animals. Repetitive behaviors and increased pain sensitivity are often comorbid in psychiatric disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder). Therefore, the behavioral characteristics of intraperitoneal NMDA-administered mice described herein may be valuable for studying the mechanisms underlying relevant disorders and screening candidate therapeutic molecules.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2021

Background: Pain and autonomic dysfunction are prominent symptoms in some patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Infrared thermography (IRT) has been used to evaluate CTS by measuring the cutaneous temperature and sympathetic vasomotor function. Methods: This study enrolled the 66 hands of 33 subjects, some of which had clinical CTS and the others were healthy. The enrolled patients completed the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and Historical-Objective scale, and underwent nerve conduction studies (NCSs) and IRT. Skin temperature was measured at the fingertips and the thenar and hypothenar regions in each hand. We analyzed (1) the correlations between self-reported severity, physician-assessed severity, and test results, and (2) the sensitivity and specificity of IRT in diagnosing CTS. Results: No significant correlation was observed between the results of the BCTQ, NCS, and IRT. IRT had a low sensitivity and high specificity in diagnosing CTS. Conclusions: IRT cannot replace NCS in diagnosing CTS, nor did it provide an advantage in combination with NCS. However, lower temperatures at the median nerve in some hands with moderate-to-severe CTS suggested the involvement of sympathetic nerve fiber function. Follow-up studies with a larger-scale and complementary design are required to elucidate the relationships.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.240-248
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• 1989

The increase in size and numbers of general hospitals in the process of conspicuous development of modem medicine has been accompanied by a serious increase in hospital acquired infections. Hospital aquired infections cause pain and discomfort, may threaten life, adds an economic burden, and delays recovery and return to society. Even though respiratory hospital infection rates resulting for tracheostomy and respiratory inhalation therapy, may be low, they are serious because of their bad prognosis and high mortality rates. This study was designed to assess certain aspects of respiratory infections of patients with a tracheostomy and thus provide baseline data for further research related to preventive or therapeutic nursing interventions. The specific objectives were to determine the incidence of colonization in the trachea, clinical signs, type of colonized bacteria and sensitivity to antibiotics. Data were collected from July 1 to December 10, 1989 at two university Hospital in Seoul. Subjects were 20 patients with a tracheostomy admitted to the Intensive Care Unit or Cerebral Vascular Accident Center. Clinical signs related to respiratory infection were observed using a checklist based on previous study outcomes. Bacterial culture, sensitivity test to antibiotics, WBC counts and chest X-ray were also performed. Cultures were done on the day of tracheostomy, and on the third, fifth and seventh day. Cultures were then done on seventh days after the first colonization. The results were as follows : 1. The incidence of bacteria colonization in a week was 90%(18 patients) 50% (10/20 patients) on the day of tracheostomy, 70%(7/10 patients) on the third day, and 0% on the fifth day, and 33%(1/3 patient) on the seventh day. 3 of 18 patients (16.7%) were colonies of mixed growth isolated. 2. The observed clinical signs related to respiratory infection were high fever 38.9%(7 patients), prulent secretion 16.7%(12 patients) and infiltration seen on chest X-ray 33.3%(6 patients). 3. The total number of types of bacteria isolated among the 18 subjects was 21 ; gram negative 71.4%, gram postive 28.6%. The dominant bacteria type was Staphylococcus aureus(5 cases) for gram(equation omitted) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa(3 cases), Klebsiella (4 cases), Enterobacter(3 cases) for gram (equation omitted). The results of culture on 7th day after the first colonization, 6 cases showed same type of bacteria, 3cases showed different type of bacteria and 1 cases showed no growth. 4. The sensitivity tests to antibiotics showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus were strongly resistant to most kinds of antibiotics, but Klebsiella and the rest of gram negative bacteria were moderately sensitive to antibiotics.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.185-194
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• 2014

One in every 10 persons suffer from chronic gastritis in Korea. Endoscopy is most commonly used to diagnose the chronic gastritis. Endoscopic diagnosis is precise but it is accompanied with pain and high cost. According to pulse diagnosis in Traditional East Asian Medicine, health problems in stomach can be diagnosed with radial pulse signals in 'Guan' location in the right wrist, which are non-invasive and cost-effective. In this study, we developed a classification model of chronic gastritis using pulse signals in right 'Guan' location. We used both linear discrimination method and logistic regression model with respect to pulse features obtained with a peak-valley detection algorithm and a Gaussian model. As a result, we obtained sensitivity ranged between 77%~89% and specificity ranged between 72%~83% depending on classification models and feature extraction methods, and the average classification rates were approximately 80%, irrespective of the models. Specifically, the Gaussian model were featured by superior sensitivities (89.1% and 87.5%) while the peak-valley detection method showed superior specificities (82.8% and 81.3%), and the average classification rate (sensitivity + specificity) of the Gaussian model was 80.9% which was 1.2% ahead of the peak-valley method. In conclusion, we obtained a reliable classification model for the chronic gastritis based on the radial pulse feature extraction algorithms, where the Gaussian model was featured by outperformed sensitivity and the peak-valley method was featured by outperformed specificity.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.165-176
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• 1991

The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of quantitative Tl-201 tomography to identify and localize coronary artery disease (CAD). The study population consisted of 41 patients (31 males, 10 females; mean age $55{\pm}7$ yr) including 14 with prior myocardial infarction who underwent both exercise Tl-201 myocardium SPECT and coronary angiography for the evaluation of chest pain. From the short axis and vertical long axis tomograms, stress extent polar maps were generated by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center program, and the % stress defect extent (SDE) was quantified for each coronary artery territory. For the purpose of this study, the coronary circulation was divided into 6 arterial segments, and the "myocardial ischemic score" (MIS) was calculated from the coronary angiogram. Sensitivity for the detection of CAD ($\geq50%$ coronary stenosis by angiography) by angiography) by stress extent polar map was 95% in single vessel disease, and 100% in double and triple vessel deseases. Overall sensitivity was 97%. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of individual diseased vessels were, respectively, 87% and 90% for the left anterior descending artery (LAD), 36% and 93% for the left circumflex artery (LCX), and 71% and 70% for the right coronary artery (RCA). Concordance for the detection of individual diseased vessels between the coronary angiography and stress polar map was fair for the LAD (kappa=0.70), and RCA (kappa=0.41) lesions, whereas it was poor for the LCX lesions (kappa : 0.32). There were siginificant correlations between the MIS and SDE in LAD (rs=0.56, p=0.0027), and RCA territory (rs=0.60, p=0.0094). No significant correlation was found in LCX territory. When total vascular territories were combined, there was a significant correlation between the MIS and SDE (rs=0.42, p=0.0116). In conclusion, the quantitative analysis of Tl-201 tomograms appears to be accurate for determining the presence and location of CAD.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.376-380
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• 2013

Frey syndrome is a disease characterized by abnormal sweating, facial redness, and rare pain by stimulation of taste sense on the limited area dominated by the auriculotemporal nerve and great auricular nerve. Although the developmental mechanism and histopathologic cause of Frey syndrome are still being debated, the most reliable theory is based on injury of the parathympathetic nerve connected to the auriculotemporal nerve continuing to abnormal regeneration. The other theory is that the sweat glands develop an increased sensitivity after degeneration of sympathetic fibers. Therapy of Frey syndrome includes drugs, radiographic treatment, and surgical treatment; however, in most cases, treatment is not satisfactory. This is a case report on a 24-year-old male patient with Frey syndrome caused by the fracture reduction with retromandibular approach after multiple facial traumas and spontaneous healing without any special treatment.