• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.120-134
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• 2023

Purpose: We investigated whether repeated irradiation with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at a combination of 470 nm and 525 nm could suppress the progression of experimental periodontitis. Methods: A experimental periodontitis model was established in the second, third, and fourth premolars of the mandible in beagle dogs for 2 months. The spontaneous progression of periodontitis was monitored under the specified treatment regimen for 3 months. During this period, the animals were subjected to treatments of either plaque control only (control) or plaque control with LED application (test) at 2-week intervals. The clinical parameters included the probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival recession (GR), and the clinical attachment level (CAL). Histomorphometric analysis was performed using measurements of the length of the junctional epithelium, connective tissue (CT) zone, and total soft tissue (ST). Results: There were significant differences in PPD between the control and test groups at baseline and 12 weeks. When the change in PPD was stratified based on time intervals, it was shown that greater differences occurred in the test group, with statistical significance for baseline to 12 weeks, 6 to 12 weeks, and baseline to 6 weeks. There was no significant difference in GR between the control and test groups at any time points. Likewise, no statistically significant differences were found in GR at any time intervals. CAL showed a statistically significant difference between the control and test groups at baseline only, although significant differences in CAL were observed between baseline and 12 weeks and between 6 and 12 weeks. The proportion of CT to ST was smaller for both buccal and lingual areas in the control group than in the test group. Conclusions: Repeated LED irradiation with a combination of 470-nm and 525-nm wavelengths may help suppress the progression of periodontal disease.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.213-224
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• 2021

Objective: Clinical outcomes of patients who undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for single small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not consistent, and may differ based on certain imaging findings. This retrospective study was aimed at determining the efficacy of pre-TACE CT or MR imaging findings in predicting survival outcomes in patients with small HCC upon being treated with TACE. Besides, the study proposed to build a risk prediction model for these patients. Materials and Methods: Altogether, 750 patients with functionally good hepatic reserve who received TACE as the first-line treatment for single small HCC between 2004 and 2014 were included in the study. These patients were randomly assigned into training (n = 525) and validation (n = 225) sets. Results: According to the results of a multivariable Cox analysis, three pre-TACE imaging findings (tumor margin, tumor location, enhancement pattern) and two clinical factors (age, serum albumin level) were selected and scored to create predictive models for overall, local tumor progression (LTP)-free, and progression-free survival in the training set. The median overall survival time in the validation set were 137.5 months, 76.1 months, and 44.0 months for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups, respectively (p < 0.001). Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves of the predictive models for overall, LTP-free, and progression-free survival applied to the validation cohort showed acceptable areas under the curve values (0.734, 0.802, and 0.775 for overall survival; 0.738, 0.789, and 0.791 for LTP-free survival; and 0.671, 0.733, and 0.694 for progression-free survival at 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively). Conclusion: Pre-TACE CT or MR imaging findings could predict survival outcomes in patients with small HCC upon treatment with TACE. Our predictive models including three imaging predictors could be helpful in prognostication, identification, and selection of suitable candidates for TACE in patients with single small HCC.

• 한국과학교육학회지
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.437-447
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• 2014

Learning Progressions(학습진행과정, 이하 LP)은 "과학의 핵심 아이디어(core idea) 혹은 과학 활동(scientific practices) 이해 과정을 상대적으로 단순한 체계에서 전문가의 지식체계로 논리적이고, 순차적인 단계로 정교하게 설명한 틀"로서, 한 교과 내 및 다른 과학영역들(물리, 지구과학, 생물, 화학)과 연결하여 연계적 교육과정을 구성하는 이론적 기반을 제공한다. 학습은 개개인의 선지식, 선경험, 교과교육과정, 교육과정 등의 여러 요소에 영향을 받는 복잡한 이해 과정으로, LP 단계를 모든 학생들이 동일하게 이동하지 않는다. 학생과 학습환경의 특성에 따른 이동 가능한 학습경로의 서술을 위해서는 다양한 학생데이터의 수집과 분석이 필요하다. 이러한 과정을 통해서 가설의 LP는 과학적으로 증명된 LP로 규명되며. 비로소 교과과정 개발의 틀(framework)로 역할을 할 수 있다. 본 연구는 미시간 대학 연구팀이 개발한 "물질의 본성(nature of matter)" 주요 개념에서, 하위개념인 "물질의 입자성(particule nature of matter)과 입자적 표상(submicroscophic representation)"의 LP와 관련 평가지를 우리나라 과학교육과정과 연계, 수정하여 개발하였다. 수정된 평가지와 LP는 124명의 중고등학생의 LP 경로 특성을 분석하는데 사용되었다. 학생들의 입자적 개념과 표상의 이해도, 개념과 표상 이해도 연관성을 중점으로 분석하여 관련 과학교육과정과 현장 수업의 문제점과 시사점을 도출하였다. 본 연구결과를 종합해 보면, 높은 레벨 문항의 정답을 고른 빈도수는 낮은 레벨 문항을 모두 정답으로 고른 경우에 높았으며 이는 학생들이 본 연구팀이 개발한 LP 경로로 이해과정을 정교화시킴을 알 수 있다. 하지만, 대부분의 학생들, 특히 고등학생들은 초등학교 수준의 거시적 물질의 본성 개념 LP 단계에 머물고 있으며, 중학교 수준인 미시적 표상 LP 단계에 있다. 입자적 개념과 표상 이해 실패의 주요 원인은 1) 과학적 모델의 본질, 2) 관련 선지식, 3) 미립자 표상의 이해부족으로 정리된다. 본 연구결과는 물질의 입자성과 관련된 개념, 과학활동(특히 모델링)을 증진시키고 개개인 특성에 맞는 맞춤형 학습환경 제공을 위한 학습, 교수, 평가자료 개발에 기여하는 바가 크다. 더 나아가 '물질의 본성'에 대한 LP연구와 과학적 소양 증진에 긍정적 역할을 할 것으로 기대한다.

• 대한정형외과학회지
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.336-342
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• 2019

목적: 자기공명영상(magnetic resonance imaging, MRI)을 이용하여 보존적 치료를 시행한 흉요추부 골다공증성 압박 골절 환자에서 후만 변형의 예측 인자를 조사하고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 2007년 1월부터 2016년 3월까지 흉요추 압박 골절 의심하에 진료를 본 환자들 중 보존적 치료를 시행한 환자를 따로 분류하였고 그들 중 골밀도 -2.0 미만의 골감소증 및 골다공증, 단일 분절 골절을 가진 환자 89명을 대상으로 후향적 연구를 시행하였다. 골절된 척추체에서 전·후종 인대 손상, 상부 또는 하부 종판 파열, 상부 또는 하부 추간판 손상, T2 강조 영상에서 저 신호 강도의 존재, 척추체의 골 부종 정도를 MRI를 통해 확인하였다. 결과: 상부 종판이 파열된 사례나 척추체 골 부종 수준이 높은 사례의 경우 후만각, 설상각, 전방 척추 압박이 현저하게 진행되었다. 전종 인대 손상이나 상부 추간판 손상이 있는 경우에는 후만각만 현저하게 진행되었다. T2 강조 영상에서 저 신호 강도의 병변을 보인 경우 설상각과 전방 척추 압박이 높게 나타났다. 그러나 후종 인대 손상과 하부 종판 파열 및 하부 추간판 손상의 경우는 후만 변형 및 척추 압박의 진행과 유의미한 상관관계는 없었다. 후만각이 5° 이상 증가될 위험 요인으로는 전종 인대의 손상 유무, 상부 종판 파열, 상부 추간판 손상이 있는데 손상 받지 않은 사례에 비해 각각 21.3, 5.1, 8.5배 위험했고 골 부종 수준에 따라 각각 위험도가 달랐다. 결론: 골감소증 및 흉요추부 골다공증성 압박 골절일지라도 전종 인대 손상, 상부 종판 및 추간판 손상 또는 MRI상 높은 수준의 부종이 있을 경우 후만 변형의 위험도가 증가한다.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.119-126
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• 2009

This study investigated the effect of Corni Fructus(Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc.) extract on hyperglycemia and renal function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups including normal control(NC), diabetic control(DC), and diabetic treatment with Corni Fructus(DCF). Over a 4-week experimental period, Corni Fructus aqueous extract was administered orally at 500 mg/kg BW/day. The final fasting serum glucose, serum urea nitrogen, triglyceride, urinary total protein level, and relative weight of the left kidney in the DCF group were significantly lower than the DC group. Serum insulin level in the DCF group was higher than the DC group by 23%. The renal xanthine oxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in the DCF group were significantly lower than the DC group. The renal catalase activity in the DCF group was significantly higher than the DC group. In conclusion, these results indicated that Corni Fructus can reduce glucose level and prevent or retard the development of diabetic complication via its antioxidative effect and protecting against diabetic renal damage in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권7호
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• pp.3191-3194
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• 2012

Objective: To investigate the association between the change of IGF-2 level in serum after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression, especially in relation to metastasis. Methods: IGF-2 in serum was measured by quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assaybefore, 3 days and 4 weeks after TACE in 60 patients with HCC. The occurrence of HCC metastasis was also evaluated, 3 months after TACE. Results: (1) The average serum level of IGF-2 in the 60 patients with HCC was $136.5{\pm}87.3$ pg/ml; (2) A tendency for increase was observed with heterogenous uptake of octreotide and portal vein thrombosis. Metastatic foci were found in 37/38 patients in the group with IGF-2 increasing (97.0%), in contrast to 3/22 (13.6%) patients with IGF-2 decrease. Conclusion: The increase of IGF-2 level in serum appears to be associated with the occurrence of metastatic HCC after TACE and chemotherapy.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.7-20
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• 2006

The major event in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is the death of many cells related to host immune response. The demise of these cells is normally explained by cell suicide mechanism, apoptosis. Interestingly, the decrease in the number of immune cells, such as non-CD4+ cells as well as CD4+ T cells, in HIV infection usually occurs in uninfected bystander cells, not in directly infected cells. It has, therefore, been suggested that several soluble factors, including viral protein R (Vpr), are released from the infected cells and induce the death of bystander cells. Some studies show that Vpr interacts directly with adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) to induce mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP). The MMP results in release of some apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome-c (cyt-c) and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). Vpr also has indirect effect on mitochondria through enhancing the level of caspase-9 transcription and suppressing nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$). The involvement of p53 in Vpr-induced apoptosis remains to be studied. On the other hand, low level of Vpr expression has anti-apoptotic effect, whereas it's high level of expression induces apoptosis. Extracellular Vpr also exhibits cytotoxicity to uninfected bystander cells through apoptotic or necrotic mechanism. The facts that Vpr has cytotoxic effect on both infected cells and bystander cells, and that it exhibits both proand anti-apoptotic activity may explain its role in viral survival and disease progression.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.667-677
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• 2021

The elevated expression of the hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) is known to be highly associated with tumor progression in prostate cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of HMMR expression remain unclear. Here, we report that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator of HMMR expression, for which its kinase activity is required. Pharmacological inhibitors of mTOR, such as rapamycin and Torin2, markedly suppressed the mRNA level as well as the protein level of HMMR in LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Our data demonstrate that such regulation occurs at the transcription level. HMMR promoter reporter assays revealed that the transcription factor SRF is responsible for the mTOR-mediated transcriptional regulation of HMMR gene. Consistently, the suppression of HMMR expression by Torin2 was noticeably reversed by the overexpression of SRF. Moreover, our findings suggest that the SRF binding sites responsible for the transcriptional regulation of HMMR through the mTOR-SRF axis are located in HMMR promoter sequences carrying the first intron, downstream of the translational start site. Furthermore, the upregulation of HMMR by DHT was abolished by stimulation with rapamycin, prior to DHT treatment, suggesting that mTOR activity is required for the induction of HMMR expression by androgen. Collectively, our study provides new mechanistic insights into the role of mTOR/SRF/AR signaling in HMMR regulation in prostate cancer cells.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.28.1-28.13
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• 2023

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical syndrome characterized by the onset and evolution of cognitive impairments, often considered a transitional stage to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The genetic traits of MCI patients who experience a rapid progression to AD can enhance early diagnosis capabilities and facilitate drug discovery for AD. While a genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a standard tool for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to a disease, it fails to detect SNPs with small effect sizes due to stringent control for multiple testing. Additionally, the method does not consider the group structures of SNPs, such as genes or linkage disequilibrium blocks, which can provide valuable insights into the genetic architecture. To address the limitations, we propose a Bayesian bi-level variable selection method that detects SNPs associated with time of conversion from MCI to AD. Our approach integrates group inclusion indicators into an accelerated failure time model to identify important SNP groups. Additionally, we employ data augmentation techniques to impute censored time values using a predictive posterior. We adapt Dirichlet-Laplace shrinkage priors to incorporate the group structure for SNP-level variable selection. In the simulation study, our method outperformed other competing methods regarding variable selection. The analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data revealed several genes directly or indirectly related to AD, whereas a classical GWAS did not identify any significant SNPs.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.89-94
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• 2011

Objective : D-dimer is a breakdown product of fibrin mesh after factor XIII stabilization. Previously, many authors have demonstrated a relationship between D-dimer level and stroke progression or type. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between D-dimer level and stroke volume. Methods : Between January 2008 and December 2009, we analyzed the D-dimer levels of 59 acute ischemic stroke patients in our neurosurgical department both upon admission and after seven days of initial treatment. Each patient's National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, modified Rankin Scales score, Glasgow outcome score, and infarction volume were also evaluated. Results : Mean D-dimer level at admission was 626.6 ${\mu}g/L$ (range, 77-4,752 ${\mu}g/L$) and the mean level measured after seven days of treatment was 238.3 ${\mu}g/L$ (range, 50-924 ${\mu}g/L$). Mean D-dimer level at admission was 215.3 ${\mu}g/L$ in patients with focal infarctions, 385.7 ${\mu}g/L$ in patients with multiple embolic infarctions, 566.2 ${\mu}g/L$ in those with 1-19 cc infarctions, 668.8 ${\mu}g/L$ in 20-49 cc infarctions, 702.5 ${\mu}g/L$ in 50-199 cc infarctions, and 844.0 ${\mu}g/L$ in >200 cc infarctions (p=0.044). On the 7th day of treatment, the D-dimer levels had fallen to 201.0 ${\mu}g/L$, 293.2 ${\mu}g/L$, 272.0 ${\mu}g/L$, 232.8 ${\mu}g/L$, 336.6 ${\mu}g/L$, and 180.0 ${\mu}g/L$, respectively (p=0.530). Conclusion : Our study shows that D-dimer level has the positive correlation with infarction volume and can be use to predict infarction-volume.