• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.267-274
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of dentifrice among children in a bid to provide information on dentifrice including its function to children's parents, the major consumers of dentifrice for child. And it's additionally meant to offer useful information on the production of toothpaste for kid. The subjects in this study were parents with children, who dwelled in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. After a self-administered survey was conducted for about three months from May to July 2007 to gather data on their use of dentifrice for child, a comparative analysis was implemented. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Concerning the state of the use of their children's dentifrice, the largest number of the children(58.1%) started to use toothpaste at the age of one or down, and the most common first toothpaste they used was dentifrice for preschooler(86.8%). As for whether to use fluoride-containing toothpaste, the largest group of the parents(58.1%) gave an affirmative answer. Regarding the form of the toothpaste in use, the majority of their children used toothpaste of cream type(86.2%). The greatest group of the children used the amount of toothpaste that was as large as the three-tenths or four-tenths of the bristles(35.9%). 2. As for the state of the use of dentifrice for kid, the greatest group used that kind of toothpaste(81.4%). In the event of those who didn't use it, the last time when their children used toothpaste for kid was when they were at the western age of 3(33.9%) and 4(33.9%). Concerning the reason why they replaced toothpaste for kid with one for adult, the largest group of the parents did that on their own judgment(58.1%). As to the right time for replacing toothpaste for kid by one for adult, the greatest group considered it advisable for children to start using toothpaste for adult at the western age of 4 or 5(43.2%). 3. In relation to the state of the purchase of toothpaste for their children, the largest group was under the moderate influence of the children when they bought it(45.2%). The greatest group attached importance to the ingredients of toothpaste(41.6%), and the most preferred ingredient was fluoride(56.3%). 53.0 percent took consideration on the content of ingredients or the instructions. 4. In regard to priorities for the choice of toothpaste for their children, they gave top priority to brand(16.7%), followed by quality(14.6%) and ingredients(13.5%). The age of the parents made a statistically significant difference to the children's age when they started using toothpaste, and how they started to do that and whether they used fluoride-containing toothpaste were statistically significantly different according to that as well(p < 0.01). In regard to the impact of the occupation of the parents, the use of fluoride-containing toothpaste was more common among the stay-at-home mothers(p < 0.01).

• Journal of the Speleological Society of Korea
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• 제95호
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• pp.35-49
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• 2009

Ever since the beginning of time, caves not only have offered a place to live for humans but they have also been used as cultural spaces. That is, in the event of making some sounds in a location within the cave, the sound that is created is greatly magnified and sounds out as if it is being amplified from a giant megaphone. This, as we well know it, is known as the resonance effect. Here, the cave itself appears to function as a massive wind instrument. Especially in cases like the Altamira Cave (Spain) where cave paintings were found, the point where the cave drawings were found has commonalities in that it is a wide space and that it is usually discovered together with flutes and drums that are made with mammoth bones. We need to focus on this point. We can infer from these facts that the prehistoric people have carried out cultural activities along with their incantation rituals within those caves. In the meantime, amongst the Korean traditional arts, in the case of pansori which is a representative vocal genre, there have been examples where caves were used as practicing locations for those people who are training to perfect their singing. This is known as toguldoggong(土窟獨功) which literally means 'obtaining one's own art by oneself in the earth cave by practicing incessantly'. This process along with pokpodoggong (瀑布獨功) (same as above except that the location is by the waterfall) is the final training stage in order to become a recognized virtuoso on the part of the apprentice. This could be compared to the final annealing and finishing process of producing a metalwork. This has been a long tradition followed by most Korean traditional artists in order to perfect their sound which is harmonious with nature within natural surroundings. By honing in on this point, I have come to think about this matter repeatedly while coaching the university students in vocal singing. In short, I came to the conclusion that "the making of natural sounds will be obtained naturally within natural surroundings like caves!" Consequently, The Society for Studying Cave Sounds was inaugurated on January 1992 along with some of my students. We made use of times like vacations to go around exploring caves all over Jeju and carried out investigations of sounds along with cave exploration on an experimental basis. After 5 years, in September of 1997, we were able to host the first ever cave concert domestically at the Whale Nostril Cave(東岸鯨窟) on Wu-do. After that, we have been hosting the cave concert once every year. We have achieved a record of a total of 14 cave concerts until 2009 of this year. Out of these, 2 were held in Seokhwaeam Cave in Kangwon Province, another two were held in Manjang Cave which is a lava cave, and the remaining 10 were held in the Whale Nostril Cave of Wu-do. Along with that, I have carried out a special recording for the production of a cave music CD in May of 1999. This paper was written and organized by using the main materials that were derived from the experiences of using caves as concert halls in the past. It is hoped that this cave concert will offer a very unique experience to tourists who come to Jeju every year and give them the best possible superior natural sound effect that only Jeju caves can offer.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.443-448
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• 1996

In order to investigate the function of xylA promoter(Pxyl) as regulatory region Pxyl-lacZ fusion gene was constructed by the insertion of xylA promoter to the multiple cloning site of upstream of lacZ gene in a multicopy numbered plasmid pMC1403 containing promoterless lac operon, which was designated pMCX191, and Pxyl-lacZ fragment from pMCX191 was inserted to low copy numbered plasmid pLG339, designated pLGX191. The expressions of ${\beta}-galactosidase$ in these recombinant plasmids containing Pxyl-lacZ fusion gene were induced strongly by the addition of xylose, repressed by the addition of 0.2% glucose in the presence of xylose. The catabolite repressions were derepressed by the addition of 1 mM cAMP as same as native xylA gene. The fragment of xylA promoter was partially deleted from the upstream of xylA promoter by exonuclease III to investigate the regulation site of xylA promoter and the degrees of deletion derivatives of xylA promoter were analyzed by the DNA base sequencing. By the investigations of the induction by xylose, repression by glucose and derepression by cAMP on xylose isomerase production, the regulation site of xylA promoter may be located in segment between -165 and -59 bp upstream from the initiation site of xylA translation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.304-310
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• 1999

Background: IFN-$\gamma$ plays an important role in host response to intracellular organisms such as mycobacterium. Human infection with mycobacterium leads to a wide variety of outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic infection to widespread and rapidly fatal disease. Recent reports suggest that alteration of the function of IFN-$\gamma$ caused by a defective IFN-$\gamma$ receptor gene can explain different host response to mycobacterium. In this study, we investigated the role of IFN-$\gamma$ in the development of chronic refractory tuberculosis. Methods: The LPS-induced TNF-$\alpha$ production with or without IFN-$\gamma$ priming was compared by using monocytes taken from recently diagnosed tuberculosis, chronic refractory tuberculosis patients and controls. And the IFN-$\gamma$ receptor was measured by indirect fluorescent antibody technique to know whether change in the priming effect of IFN-$\gamma$ is related to IFN-$\gamma$ receptor deficiency or not. Results: The ratio of TNF-$\alpha$ produced in response to stimulation with INF-$\gamma$ and LPS to LPS alone was $13.5{\pm}7.6$ in controls, $10.8{\pm}6.4$ in recently diagnosed tuberculosis patients and $6.7{\pm}3.9$ in chronic refractory tuberculosis patients. The priming effect of IFN-$\gamma$ significantly decreased in chronic refractory tuberculosis patients compared with that in controls(p=0.002). However, IFN-$\gamma$ receptor deficiency was detected in one of chronic refractory tuberculosis patients. Conclusion: The decrease of the priming effect of IFN-$\gamma$ may play an important role in the development of chronic refractory tuberculosis, and in some patients, this may be related to the IFN-$\gamma$ receptor deficiency.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.375-395
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• 2006

Purpose: Lingual nerve (LN) damage may be caused by either tumor resection or injury such as wisdom tooth extraction, Although autologous nerve graft is sometimes used to repair the damaged nerve, it has the disadvantage of necessity of another operation for nerve harvesting. Moreover, the results of nerve grafting is not satisfactory. The nerve growth factor (NGF) is well-known to play a critical role in peripheral nerve regeneration and its local delivery to the injured nerve has been continuously tried to enhance nerve regeneration. However, its application has limitations like repeated administration due to short half life of 30 minutes and an in vivo delivery model must allow for direct and local delivery. The aim of this study was to construct a well-functioning $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus for the ultimate development of improved method to promote peripheral nerve regeneration with enhanced and extended secretion of hNGF from the injured nerve by injecting $rhNGF-{\beta}$ gene directly into crush-injured LN in rat model. Materials and Methods: $hNGF-{\beta}$ gene was prepared from fetal brain cDNA library and cloned into E1/E3 deleted adenoviral vector which contains green fluorescence protein (GFP) gene as a reporter. After large scale production and purification of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, transfection efficiency and its expression at various cells (primary cultured Schwann cells, HEK293 cells, Schwann cell lines, NIH3T3 and CRH cells) were evaluated by fluorescent microscopy, RT-PCR, ELISA, immunocytochemistry. Furthermore, the function of rhNGF-beta, which was secreted from various cells infected with $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, was evaluated using neuritogenesis of PC-12 cells. For in vivo evaluation of efficacy of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus, the LNs of 8-week old rats were exposed and crush-injured with a small hemostat for 10 seconds. After the injury, $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus($2{\mu}l,\;1.5{\times}10^{11}pfu$) or saline was administered into the crushed site in the experimental (n=24) and the control group (n=24), respectively. Sham operation of another group of rats (n=9) was performed without administration of either saline or adenovirus. The taste recovery and the change of fungiform papilla were studied at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Each of the 6 animals was tested with different solutions (0.1M NaCl, 0.1M sucrose, 0.01M QHCl, or 0.01M HCl) by two-bottle test paradigm and the number of papilla was counted using SEM picture of tongue dorsum. LN was explored at the same interval as taste study and evaluated electro-physiologically (peak voltage and nerve conduction velocity) and histomorphometrically (axon count, myelin thickness). Results: The recombinant adenovirus vector carrying $rhNGF-{\beta}$ was constructed and confirmed by restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA sequence analysis. GFP expression was observed in 90% of $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected cells compared with uninfected cells. Total mRNA isolated from $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected cells showed strong RT-PCR band, however uninfected or LacZ recombinant adenovirus infected cells did not. NGF quantification by ELISA showed a maximal release of $18865.4{\pm}310.9pg/ml$ NGF at the 4th day and stably continued till 14 days by $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected Schwann cells. PC-12 cells exposed to media with $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus infected Schwann cell revealed at the same level of neurite-extension as the commercial NGF did. $rhNGF-{\beta}$ adenovirus injected experimental groups in comparison to the control group exhibited different taste preference ratio. Salty, sweet and sour taste preference ratio were significantly different after 2 weeks from the beginning of the experiment, which were similar to the sham group, but not to the control group.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제50권1호
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• pp.76-83
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• 2001

Background : Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from chronic inhalation of coal dust. The precise mechanism of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis is uncertain. However, a relationship between the stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and collagen production by mediators released from in flammatory and resident lung cells is thought to be a major factor. The transforming growth factor-$\beta$(TGF-$\beta$), a multifunctional cytokine and growth factor, plays a key role in the scarring and fibrotic processes due to its ability to induce extracellular matrix proteins and modulate the growth and immune function of many cell types. To determine the involvement of TGF-$\beta$ in the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis, the TGF-${\beta}_1$ level in plasma was measured in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Methods : Plasma was collected from 40 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (20 with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and 20 with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis) and from 10 normal controls. The ELISA method was used to measure the plasma TGF-${\beta}_1$ concentration. Results : Compared to the control group ($0.63{\pm}01.8$ ng/mL), there was no significant difference in the plasma TGF-${\beta}_1$ level in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis ($0.64{\pm}0.17$ ng/mL) (p>0.05). However, in patients with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis the plasma TGF-${\beta}_1$ level ($0.79{\pm}0.18$ ng/mL) was significantly higher than in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion : The data suggests that TGF-${\beta}_1$ has some influence in the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제60권6호
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• pp.625-630
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• 2006

Background: Pulmonary hypertension in COPD patients is the result of a direct effect of tobacco smoke on the intrapulmonary vessels with the abnormal production of the mediators that control vasoconstriction, vasodilatation, and vascular cell proliferation, which ultimately lead to aberrant vascular remodeling and physiology. COPD patients are prone to the developmint of an acute and chronic thromboembolism with an elevation of the plasma procoagulant and fibrinolytic markers However, the roles of the coagulation and fibrinolysis system on the right ventricular dysfunction in COPD patients are not well defined. We examined the alteration of the coagulation and fibrinolysis system in COPD patients according to the right ventricular function measured using cardiac multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: The right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was measured using cardiac MDCT in 26 patients who were diagnosed with COPD according to the definition of the GOLD guideline. The plasma level of thrombin antithrombin (TAT) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 were measured using an enzyme linked immunoassay. Results: The plasma TAT was markedly elevated in COPD patients ($10.5{\pm}19.8{\mu}g/L$) compared with those of the control ($3.4{\pm}2.5{\mu}g/L$) (p<0.01). However, the plasma PAI-1 in COPD patients ($29.6{\pm}20.7ng/mL$) was similar to that in the controls. The plasma TAT showed a significant inverse relationship with the RVEF measured by the cardiac MDCT in COPD patients (r=-0.645, p<0.01). However, the plasma PAI-1 did not show a relationship with the RVEF (r=0.022, p=0.92). Conclusion: These results suggest that the coagulation system in COPD patients is markedly activated, and that the plasma level of TAT might be a marker of a right ventricular dysfunction in COPD patients.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.605-616
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• 2004

Subinhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) refer to concentrations below minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The antimicrobial agents may be present at relatively high concentration, at least higher than bacterial MIC and thereafter be deserted off a surface and function at sub-MICs, perhaps by interfering with bacterial metabolism. Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of growth, in the presence of sub-MICs of antimicrobial agents, on the cell surface properties and virulence factors of mutans streptococci and to investigate the efficacy of a chemical approach in vitro. Streptococcus mutans Ingbritt and Streptococcus sobrinus 6715-7 were used. Eight antimicrobial agents (Sanguinaria extract;SG, Chlorhexidine digluconate;CHX, Fluoride;F, Propolis;PP, Hydrogen peroxide;HP, Triclosan;TC, Sodium dodecyl sulfate;SDS Cetylpyridinium chloride; CC) were diluted serially in broth to determine MICs and to compare the growth rate, acid production, hydrophobicity, adhesion activity to saliva coated hydroxyapatite, glucan synthesis and cellular aggregation of experiment groups (in the presence of sub-MICs) with those of control (in the absence of antimicrobial agents). Sub-MICs of antimicrobial agents affected the growth of cells, hydrophobicity, and adhesion of bacteria to saliva coated hydroxyapatite and glucan synthesis. They also resulted in a significant reduction in pH after 12 hours (p<0.05). By cells pretreated with proteinase K, either the aggregation induced by antimicrobial agents was completely inhibited or the aggregation titers were markedly increased. According to the results of the present study, each antimicrobial agent at sub-MICs could affect similar as its known action mechanism and could continually inhibit cariogenic bacteria at such concentrations. Thus, the use of these antimicrobial agents would be one of the effective methods to prevent dental caries.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제26권6호
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• pp.689-697
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• 2016

Kefir is an acidic-alcoholic fermented milk product originating from the Caucasian mountains. Kefir has long been known for its probiotic health benefits, including its immunomodulatory effects. The objectives of this study were to investigate the properties of a fermented whey product and to examine the effects of kefir grains on the in vitro immune-modulation of human mast cell-1 (HMC-1). The results showed that the whey fermented by kefir grains contained the maximum lactic acid bacteria and yeast for 16 hr by 1.83×10⁸ and 6.5×10⁵ CFU/ml, respectively, and lactose and whey proteins were partially hydrolyzed. The experimental whey fermented by kefir grains exhibited an in vitro anti-inflammatory effect on the HMC-1 line for 8, 16, and 24 hr, and this effect induced the expression of interleukin (IL)-4 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, but not for 48 hr by RT-PCR in HMC-1 cells. In addition, the same phenomenon was observed for the expression of IL-8 as a pro-inflammatory cytokine by the kefir-fermented whey during the same periods of 8-48 hr under the same conditions. These cytokines resulted in the production of IL-4 at 20-25 ng in HMC-1 cells for 8, 16, and 24 hr, whereas 5 ng was produced for 48 hr by the fermented whey. In contrast, IL-8 was produced at 15-20 ng in HMC-1 cells during 4, 8, 16, and 24 hr, while 7 ng was produced at 48 hr. It was concluded that the whey fermented by kefir grains possesses a potential anti-inflammatory function, which could be used for an industrial application as an ingredient of functional foods and pharmaceutical products.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.35-55
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• 2008

Assessing vulnerability to climate change is the first step to take when setting up appropriate adaptation strategies. Adaptive capacity to climate change is the important factor comprising vulnerability. An adaptive capacity index in agricultural water management system was developed considering agricultural water supply and demand for rice production in Jeolla-do, Korea. The agricultural water supply was assumed to be equal to the amount of water stored in the major agricultural reservoirs, while data on the agricultural water demand was obtained from the dynamic simulation results by Korea Agriculture Corporation(KAC). The spatial unit for analysis was conducted at the county(Si, Gun, Gu) level and temporal scale was based on every month from 1991-2003. Adaptive capacity for drought stress index(ACDS index) was calculated as the percentage of data points where the irrigated water supply was greater than the crop water demand. The ACDS index was compared with SWSCI(Standard Water Storage Capacity Index) and the relationship showed high degree of fit($R^2$=0.84) using the exponential function, indicating that the developed ACDS index is useful for evaluating the status of the balance between agricultural water supply and demand, especially for the small sized agricultural reservoirs. This study provided the methodological basis for developing climate change vulnerability index in agricultural water system which is projected to be more frequently exposed to drought condition in the future due to climate change. Further research should be extended to the study on the water demand of the crops other than rice and to the projection of the change in ACDS index in the future.