• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.103-112
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• 2017

Background: 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol 20-O-D-glucopyranoside, also called compound K (CK), exerts antidiabetic effects that are mediated by insulin secretion through adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium ($K_{ATP}$) channels in pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells. However, the antidiabetic effects of CK may be limited because of its low bioavailability. Methods: In this study, we aimed to enhance the antidiabetic activity and lower the toxicity of CK by including it with ${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (CD) (CD-CK), and to determine whether the CD-CK compound enhanced pancreatic islet recovery, compared to CK alone, in an alloxan-induced diabetic zebrafish model. Furthermore, we confirmed the toxicity of CD-CK relative to CK alone by morphological changes, mitochondrial damage, and TdT-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays, and determined the ratio between the toxic and therapeutic dose for both compounds to verify the relative safety of CK and CD-CK. Results: The CD-CK conjugate ($EC_{50}=2.158{\mu}M$) enhanced the recovery of pancreatic islets, compared to CK alone ($EC_{50}=7.221{\mu}M$), as assessed in alloxan-induced diabetic zebrafish larvae. In addition, CD-CK ($LC_{50} =20.68{\mu}M$) was less toxic than CK alone ($LC_{50}=14.24{\mu}M$). The therapeutic index of CK and CD-CK was 1.98 and 9.58, respectively. Conclusion: The CD-CK inclusion complex enhanced the recovery of damaged pancreatic islets in diabetic zebrafish. The CD-CK inclusion complex has potential as an effective antidiabetic efficacy with lower toxicity.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.895-906
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• 2018

The improvement project for school zone in Korea is occurring mostly in kindergartens and elementary schools in which children are mainly active, and is being promoted as part of measures to prevent children's traffic accidents. However, since the study on the essential installation facilities and proper level of safety facilities for School zone is lacking, this study relatively evaluated the efficiency of safety facility installation using DEA (Data Envelope Analysis) and suggested improvement plan. We built the facilities and incident data for 28 school zones in Hwaseong City. Six major facilities (Raised intersection, Raised crosswalk, Protective fence, Skid Proof, Speed hump, Speed cameras) that have proven to be effective in the preceding research were analyzed as input factors. As a result of the analysis, only 12 out of 28 showed efficiency and 16 out of efficiency. Effective groups of school zones were found to have fewer installed Protective fences, Skid Proof, and Speed cameras installations than school zones classified as ineffective groups. Protective fences were found to be efficient even if only 47% of the total extension of the school zone was installed, and the number of slip prevention facilities was 8.7 per square km. The number of subjects to be compared is 28, so this study is limited to use as a relative efficiency evaluation index, and it can be grouped into nationwide units and efficiency evaluation can be done for each group.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8513-8517
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• 2016

Background: GLOBOCAN12 recently reported high cancer mortality in Malaysia suggesting its cancer health services are under-performing. Cancer survival is a key index of the overall effectiveness of health services in the management of patients. This report focuses on Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) care performance as measured by patient survival outcome for up to 5 years. Materials and Methods: All women with breast cancer treated at SJMC between 2008 and 2012 were enrolled for this observational cohort study. Mortality outcome was ascertained through record linkage with national death register, linkage with hospital registration system and finally through direct contact by phone or home visits. Results: A total of 675 patients treated between 2008 and 2012 were included in the present survival analysis, 65% with early breast cancer, 20% with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) and 4% with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The overall relative survival (RS) at 5 years was 88%. RS for stage I was 100% and for stage II, III and IV disease was 95%, 69% and 36% respectively. Conclusions: SJMC is among the first hospitals in Malaysia to embark on routine measurement of the performance of its cancer care services and its results are comparable to any leading centers in developed countries.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.731-741
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• 2015

The objectives of study were to evaluate fish species compositions of trophic guilds and tolerance guilds and apply ecological fish assessment (EFA) models to Bekjae Weir, Keum-River Watershed. The EFA models were Stream Index of Biological Integrity (SIBI) used frequently for running water and Lentic Ecosystem Health Assessment (LEHA) used for assessments of stagnant water. The region of Bekjae Weir as a "four major river project" was originally a lotic ecosystem before the weir construction (2010, $B_{WC}$) but became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system after the construction (2011, $A_{WC}$). In the analysis of species composition and ecological bioindicator (fish), fish species with a preference of running water showed significant decreases (p < 0.05), whereas the species with a preference of stagnant water showed significant increases (p < 0.05). After the weir construction, relative abundances of tolerant species increased, and the proportion of insectivores decreased. This phenomenon indicated the changes of biotic compositions in the system by the weir construction. Applications of SIBI and LEHA models to the system showed that the two model values decreased at the same time after the weir construction ($A_{WC}$), and the region became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system, indicating the degradation of ecosystem health. The model values of SIBI were 19 and 16, respectively, in the BWC and AWC, and the health conditions were both "C-rank". In the mean time, the LEHA model analysis showed that the values was 28 in the BWC and 24 in the AWC, thus the health was turned to be "B-Rank" in the BWC and "C-Rank" in the AWC. indicating a degradation of ecological heath after the weir construction.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.577-587
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• 2021

Drought is generally considered to be a natural disaster caused by accumulated water shortages over a long period of time, taking months or years and slowly occurring. However, climate change has led to rapid changes in weather and environmental factors that directly affect agriculture, and extreme weather conditions have led to an increase in the frequency of rapidly developing droughts within weeks to months. This phenomenon is defined as 'Flash Drought', which is caused by an increase in surface temperature over a relatively short period of time and abnormally low and rapidly decreasing soil moisture. The detection and analysis of flash drought is essential because it has a significant impact on agriculture and natural ecosystems, and its impacts are associated with agricultural drought impacts. In South Korea, there is no clear definition of flash drought, so the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze its characteristics. In this study, flash drought detection condition was presented based on the satellite-derived drought index Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) from 2014 to 2018. ESI is used as an early warning indicator for rapidly-occurring flash drought a short period of time due to its similar relationship with reduced soil moisture content, lack of precipitation, increased evaporative demand due to low humidity, high temperature, and strong winds. The flash droughts were analyzed using hydrometeorological characteristics by comparing Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), soil moisture, maximum temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and precipitation. The correlation was analyzed based on the 8 weeks prior to the occurrence of the flash drought, and in most cases, a high correlation of 0.8(-0.8) or higher(lower) was expressed for ESI and SPI, soil moisture, and maximum temperature.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.539-548
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• 2022

Objective : Although full-endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion (Endo-LIF) has been tried as the latest alternative technique to minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interobody fusion (MIS-TLIF) since mid-2010, the evidence is still lacking. We compared the clinical outcome and safety of Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF for lumbar degenerative disease. Methods : We systematically searched electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library to find literature comparing Endo-LIF to MIS-TLIF. The results retrieved were last updated on December 11, 2020. The perioperative outcome included the operation time, blood loss, complication, and hospital stay. The clinical outcomes included Visual analog scale (VAS) of low back pain and leg pain and Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the radiological outcome included pseudoarthosis rate with 12-month minimum follow-up. Results : Four retrospective observational studies and one prospective observational study comprising 423 patients (183 Endo-LIF and 241 MIS-TLIF) were included, and the pooled data analysis revealed low heterogeneity between studies in our review. Baseline characteristics including age and sex were not different between the two groups. Operation time was significantly longer in Endo-LIF (mean difference [MD], 23.220 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.669-35.771; p=0.001). However, Endo-LIF resulted in less perioperative blood loss (MD, -144.710 mL; 95% CI, 247.941-41.478; p=0.023). Although VAS back pain at final (MD, -0.120; p=0.586), leg pain within 2 weeks (MD, 0.005; p=0.293), VAS leg pain at final (MD, 0.099; p=0.099), ODI at final (MD, 0.141; p=0.093) were not different, VAS back pain within 2 weeks was more favorable in the Endo-LIF (MD, -1.538; 95% CI, -2.044 to -1.032; p<0.001). On the other hand, no statistically significant group difference in complication rate (relative risk [RR], 0.709; p=0.774), hospital stay (MD, -2.399; p=0.151), and pseudoarthrosis rate (RR, 1.284; p=0.736) were found. Conclusion : Relative to MIS-TLIF, immediate outcomes were favorable in Endo-LIF in terms of blood loss and immediate VAS back pain, although complication rate, mid-term clinical outcomes, and fusion rate were not different. However, the challenges for Endo-LIF include longer operation time which means a difficult learning curve and limited surgical indication which means patient selection bias. Larger-scale, well-designed study with long-term follow-up and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm and update the results of this systematic review.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.770-781
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• 2022

Meteorological disasters caused by climate change like heat, cold waves, and unusually long rainy seasons affect the milk productivity of cows. Studies have been conducted on how milk productivity and milk compositions change due to heat stress (HS). However, the estimation of losses in milk production due to HS and hereby environmental impacts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are yet to be evaluated in Korean dairy farms. Dairy milk production and milk compositions data from March to October 2018, provided by the Korea Dairy Committee (KDC), were used to compare regional milk production with the temperature-humidity index (THI). Raw data for the daily temperature and relative humidity in 2018 were obtained from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). This data was used to calculate the THI and the difference between the maximum and minimum temperature changing rate, as the average daily temperature range, to show the extent to which the temperature gap can affect milk productivity. The amount of milk was calculated based on the price of 926 won/kg from KDC. The results showed that the average milk production rate was the highest within the THI range 60-73 in three regions in May: Chulwon (northern region), Hwasung (central region), and Gunwi (southern region). The average milk production decreased by 4.96 ± 1.48% in northern region, 7.12 ± 2.36% in central region, and 7.94 ± 2.57% in southern region from June to August, which had a THI range of 73 or more, when compared to May. Based on the results, the level of THI should be maintained like May. If so, the farmers can earn a profit of 9,128,730 won/farm in northern region, 9,967,880 won/farm in central region, and 12,245,300 won/farm in southern region. Additionally, the average number of cows raised can be reduced by 2.41 ± 0.35 heads/farm, thereby reducing GHG emissions by 29.61 ± 4.36 kg CO₂eq/day on average. Overall, the conclusion suggests that maintaining environmental conditions in the summer that are similar to those in May is necessary. This knowledge can be used for basic research to persuade farmers to change farm facilities to increase the economic benefits and improve animal welfare.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.62-70
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• 2016

Ensuring walkability in a city where pedestrians and vehicles coexist is an issue of critical importance. The relative relationship between vehicle transit and walkability improvements complicates the evaluation of walkability, which thus necessitates the formation of a quantitative standard by which a methodological measurement of walkability can be achieved inside the pedestrian network. Therefore, a model is determined whereby quantitative indices such as, but not limited to, experiences of accessibility, mobility, and convenience within the network are estimated. This research proposes the integration of space syntax theory and the logit path choice model in the evaluation of walkability. Space syntax theory assesses adequacy of the constructed pedestrian network through calculation of the link integration value, while the logit model estimates its safety, mobility, and accessibility using probability. The advantage of the integrated model hence lies in its ability to sufficiently reflect such evaluation measures as the integration value, mobility convenience, accessibility potential, and safety experienced by the demand in a quantitative manner through probability computation. In this research, the Dial Algorithm is used to arrive at a solution to the logit model. This process requires that the physical distance of the pedestrian network and the perceptive distance of space syntax theory be made equivalent. In this, the research makes use of network expansion to reflect wait times. The evaluation index calculated through the integrated model is reviewed and using the results of this sample network, the applicability of the model is assessed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.2D
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• pp.111-119
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• 2012

In this study, the effect of safety improvement project was analyzed, and a decision making model for traffic accident reduction measures was suggested. The results of this study are as follow; First the overall number of traffic accidents and casualties were reduced, especially reduced the number of unauthorized crossing and centerline encroachments was remarkable. Second, the priorities of traffic accident reduction measures. through hazards roadway section improvement projects were determined. As, higher level evaluation items of AHP hierachy structure include civil facilities and transportation facilities. The civil facilities has 6 lower level evaluation items and transportation facilities has 4 items. The results of this study, It was revealed that traffic experts prefer civil facilities more than transportation facilities and the top 2 items of the each data (or index) took over 50%. In addition, one of the last evaluation contents through the verification, the top 3 items of civil facilities took 55.38%. The project according to the improvement projects for hazards roadway reduced traffic accidents and casualties as well as saving the cost. So these results should be available for basic information for the countermeasure about reducing the traffic accidents by local governments.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2009

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of red ginseng on women's health-related quality of life (QOL) and sexual function. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical study was performed. The main efficacy was measured using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFl) and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Twenty-four healthy, married women aged 30-45 years with FSFl scores below 25 were randomly divided into two groups: the red-ginseng group (N=12) and the placebo group (N=12). During the first six-week period (Study 1), each group was given red ginseng or placebo twice a day. Before the start of the second six-week period (Study 2), a crossover design was chosen with a two-week break (washout period). Interchanging the two groups after the washout period, red ginseng and placebo were given to each group. The outcomes were measured before and after each six-week period. Overall, 23 participants completed the study. In Study 1, the changes relative to the baseline in the FSFl total score were 22.50% and 22.99% for red ginseng and placebo, respectively. In Study 2, the relative changes were 8.14% for red ginseng and 6.29% for placebo. The results showed a greater improving trend in Study 1 with respect to all of the participants' sexual functions, but no significant difference was found between the groups (P=0.9567). After taking red ginseng, all the participants exhibited an improving trend in the desire domain of FSFl, but no significant difference was shown. In the measurement of SF-36, no significant difference was likewise shown. After taking red ginseng, though, all the participants exhibited an improving trend in the physical functioning (PF) domain of SF-36, with no significant difference. Moreover, there was no significant adverse event related to red ginseng. The QOL and sexual function of the study participants in the red-ginseng group were mostly improved, but no statistically significant effect of red ginseng was shown. It is supposed that this result was partly due to the affirmative impression of red ginseng in Korea. Thus, it is anticipated that a long-term clinical trial will show a significant effect of red ginseng on the QOL and sexual function.