• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2022

The development of selective targeting of drug molecules towards the mitochondria is an important issue related to therapy efficacy. In this study, we report that gallic acid (GA)-mitochondria targeting sequence (MTS)-H₃R₉ exhibits a dual role as a mitochondria-targeting vehicle with antioxidant activity for disease therapy. In viability assays, GA-MTS-H₃R₉ showed a better rescue action compared to that of MTS-H₃R₉. GA-MTS-H₃R₉ dramatically exhibited cell penetration and intercellular uptake compared to MTS and fit escape from lysosome release to the cytosol. We demonstrated the useful targeting of GA-MTS-H₃R₉ towards mitochondria in AC16 cells. Also, we observed that the antioxidant properties of mitochondrial-accrued GA-MTS-H₃R₉ alleviated cell damage by reactive oxygen species production and disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential. GA-MTS-H₃R₉ showed a very increased cytoprotective effect against anticancer activity compared to that of MTS-H₃R₉. We showed that GA-MTS-H₃R₉ can act as a vehicle for mitochondria-targeting and as a reagent for therapeutic applications intended for cardiovascular disease treatment.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2022

In earthquake situations, broadcasting and communication services are directly linked to rapid on-site rescue and effective restoration works. Recently, a variety of base isolation devices are widely introduced on building floors to avoid critical seismic damages of telecommunication facilities. However, in buildings with long fundamental periods, those devices may have undesirable amplification of seismic responses due to resonance effect between the building floors and base isolation devices. This study performs the seismic safety evaluation of two types of base isolation devices deployed for telecommunication facilities in mid- and high-rise buildings through numerical and experimental approaches. It is found that mid- and high-rise buildings can have low-frequency dynamic responses at the top floor when being subjected to design basis earthquake loading. Furthermore, bi-directional shake table testing demonstrated that the selected base isolation devices can exhibit unstable dynamic behaviors under such low-frequency excitations of the floor.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 2021

Objective: Physiologically, the vastus medialis muscle is the first muscle to undergo muscle atrophy, and it was thought that pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis could be reduced if this muscle could be strengthened and stabilized. The purpose of this study was to prove the effectiveness in knee osteoarthritis using polydioxanone sutures that have been tried in other musculoskeletal areas. Method: Forty knee osteoarthritis patients voluntarily participated in the study, and divided into 30 polydioxanone suture needle (MEST-B2375 produced by Ovmedi Co.) and 10 sham needle (without suture). And the needles were inserted into the vastus medialis muscle. In all patients, safety evaluation including blood tests and ultrasonography as well as efficacy evaluation including isometric maximal contractile strength of quadriceps muscle, weight bearing pain, impression of change, quadriceps angle, rescue drug intake were evaluated up to 30 weeks after the procedure. Results: Isometric maximal contractile strength showed a significant improvement at 4 weeks after the procedure in the polydioxanone suture group, and the weight-bearing pain showed a significant improvement at every visit in the polydioxanone suture group compared with baseline values. Patient global impression of change score showed significant improvement at 20 and 30 weeks, and clinical score showed improvement at every visit. Conclusion: Insertion of polydioxanone sutures showed improvement in muscle strength and knee pain by supporting and fixation of the vastus medialis muscle in patients with degenerative knee osteoarthritis. Insertion of polydioxanone sutures is considered to have a therapeutic effect in knee osteoarthritis patients.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.377-385
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• 2022

Background: Postoperative endodontic pain is an enigma for the dentist. This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effect of 300 mg gabapentin or 75 mg pregabalin in reducing postoperative endodontic pain compared with a placebo. Methods: Ninety patients who needed root canal treatment with an initial numerical rating scale (NRS) pain score of > 4 (T0) were randomly divided into three groups (n=30). Patients were then administered either 300 mg gabapentin (group A), 75 mg pregabalin (group B), or a placebo (group C) 30 min prior to the start of endodontic treatment. A single operator performed single-visit endodontics, and pain was evaluated immediately after endodontic treatment (T1) and at 4 h (T2), 8 h (T3), 12 h (T4), 24 h (T5), 48 h (T6), and 72 h (T7) using the NRS. Ibuprofen/paracetamol (400 mg/325 mg) was administered as a rescue dose if needed. Results: Pregabalin performed significantly better when compared with gabapentin at all time points except at 72 h after treatment (P=0.170). The placebo group showed significantly higher pain scores than the other two groups. The percentage of pain relief was maximum for pregabalin (92.1%), followed by gabapentin (87.6%) and placebo (69.1%) at 72 h after treatment completion. Conclusion: This study showed that pretreatment with a single dose of pregabalin and gabapentin both had greater analgesic effects than a placebo. They can be effectively used to reduce postoperative endodontic pain.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.253-262
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• 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the effects of performing the half squat exercise with Kinesio taping (HSEKT) on trunk and lower extremity muscle activity and balance ability in general university students. Methods: The 32 participants were randomly assigned to either the HSEKT group (half squats with Kinesio taping) or the control group (half squats with sham Kinesio taping). Both groups performed half squats with either Kinesio taping (HSEKT group) or sham Kinesio taping (control group) for 30 min/day, 3 times/week for 6 weeks. The Noraxon mini direct transmission system (DTS) electromyography (EMG) system was used to evaluate trunk and lower extremity muscle activity. BioRescue equipment was used to measure the movement area of the center of pressure with eyes open and eyes closed. The muscle activity of the trunk and lower extremities and the balance ability of all participants were measured before and after the intervention. An independent t-test was used to statistically analyze the pre- and post-intervention EMG and balance ability results. Results: The trunk and lower extremity muscle activity was found to have significantly improved in the HSEKT group and the control group after the intervention (p < 0.05). Also, the balance ability of the HSEKT group differed significantly after 6 weeks of training compared to that of the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study show that performing half squats with Kinesio taping had a positive effect on trunk and lower extremity muscle activity and balance ability in general university students.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.325-333
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• 2022

Heart failure (HF) has become one of the severe public health problems. The detailed role of mitochondrial function in HF was still unclear. Benzoylaconine (BAC) is a traditional Chinese medicine, but its role in HF still needs to be explored. In this study, oxygen-glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R) was executed to mimic the injury of H9C2 cells in HF. The viability of H9C2 cells was assessed via MTT assay. OGD/R treatment markedly decreased the viability of H9C2 cells, but BAC treatment evidently increased the viability of OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells. The apoptosis of H9C2 was enhanced by OGD/R treatment but suppressed by BAC treatment. The mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated via JC-1 assay. BAC improved the mitochondrial function and suppressed oxidative stress in OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells. Moreover, Western blot analysis revealed that the protein expression of p-AMPK and PGC-1α were reduced in OGD/R-treated H9C2 cells, which was reversed by BAC. Rescue assays indicated that AMPK attenuation reversed the BAC-mediated protective effect on OGD/R-treated cardiomyocytes. Moreover, BAC alleviated myocardial injury in vivo. In a word, BAC modulated the mitochondrial function in OGD/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury by activation of the AMPK/PGC-1 axis. The findings might provide support for the application of BAC in the treatment of HF.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2016

Purpose: Up to 90% of pancreatic cancer patients suffer from neuropathic pain. In a palliative care setting, pain control in pancreatic cancer patient is one of the major goals. Ketamine is a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, effective in neuropathic pain. Additionally, there have been studies about the opioid sparing effect of ketamine. This study was held in the palliative care unit among pancreatic cancer patients to determine the factors related to ketamine use and the opioid sparing effect. Methods: The medical records of pancreatic cancer patients admitted to St. Mary's hospital palliative care unit between January, 2013 and December, 2014 were reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 categories according to ketamine use. Also, opioid use before and after ketamine use was compared in the ketamine group. Results: Compared to the non-ketamine use group, patients in the ketamine group required a higher dose of opioid. The total opioid dose, daily opioid dose, number of daily rescue medications, and daily average rescue dose were statistically significantly higher in the ketamine group. The opioid requirement was increased after ketamine administration. Conclusion: In this retrospective study, ketamine was frequently considered in patients with severe pain, requiring higher amount of opioid. Studies about palliative use of ketamine in a larger number of patients with diverse types of cancer pain are required in the future.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.163-170
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• 2016

In the condition of electronic controlled acceleration system, APS Sensor is the only and the most important parts to reflect the will of driver. Especially, the non-reference type APS is the critical part of this system. It can't provide the cross-reference values and it will make the vehicle goes into the 'NMC(Non-moveable condition)' or 'Limp-home mode' on the malfunction situation easier. If the situation is happened, it's very dangerous condition for the drivers, soldiers and war material systems of battlefield. The electronic control is not a necessary system for the tactical vehicles. The tactical vehicles must be prepared the manual control system independently from the electronic control system to escape, save and rescue the soldier's life and war materials. Therefore it was studied the water-penetrated broken APS output. If the output value was changed without driver's will, even the cross-reference type APS, it will effect the uncontrollable engine RPM changing or the performance down on limp-home mode. It means the manual control system of tactical vehicle is needed for any kinds of APS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.232-237
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• 2018

According to the MAIIF report, from 1998 to 2009, 101 incidents involving entering enclosed spaces aboard ships resulted in 93 deaths and 96 casualties. IMO has therefore amended the Recommendations for entering Enclosed Spaces Entry and SOLAS 1974 Convention Chapter 3 Regulation 19, which mandates enclosed spaces entry and rescue drill on a regular basis. The training of entering such enclosed spaces should be practical, recognizing all possible risks of entering enclosed spaces aboard ships, while also considering the safety of trainees during the training. Recently, educational contents utilizing virtual reality (VR) have been applied in various fields to improve education and training effects, and these methods have proven to have advantages in actual and repetitive learning without being limited to physical space. In this study, the effectiveness, characteristics and differentiation of training of entering enclosed spaces aboard ships using VR were compared with traditional class room lectures through quantitative evaluation and questionnaires of training participants. Through the evaluation and questionnaire, it was found that participants using VR understood and learned the required training elements better than the control group, all of whom were trained through the normal class room lecture. Moreover, participants reported to display preference for training with the help of VR. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the learning effects of VR onboard training can be used as an effective training method, especially by using video and other types of simulators.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the time from the injection of muscle relaxants to the first spontaneous respiration between sugammadex and conventional reversal for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: This study was retrospectively conducted on patients who were diagnosed with gallbladder stone (N802) between January 2014 and April 2017. The data were collected from the electronic medical records of a total of 186 patients (84 patients in the neostigmine group and 102 patients in the sugammadex group). Results: The time required for the first spontaneous respiration in the sugammadex group was shorter than that in the neostigmine group (3.6 min vs 4.9 min; p<0.05). After the injection of intermediate muscle relaxants, the comparison of heart rate and mean arterial pressure in the sugammadex and neostigmine groups revealed that the heart rate in the neostigmine group was higher than in the sugammadex group after 5 min (p<0.05). The mean arterial pressure in the neostigmine group was higher than in the sugammadex group after 10 min (p<0.05). A significant adverse effect of tachycardia was observed in the neostigmine group (p<0.05), but the frequency of rescue antiemetic in the sugammadex group was significantly higher than in the neostigmine group (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, the unwanted effect of neostigmine group was tachycardia; therefore, in the case of patients with hemodynamic instability, sugammadex is recommended. At 12 hours after the injection of sugammadex to patients, more antiemetics were required than in the neostigmine group; therefore, more research should be conducted on postoperative nausea and vomiting.