• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.37-41
• /
• 2010

Background and Objectives : Transient minor voice changes after thyroidectomy are not infrequent complaints even in cases without any evidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve damage. However, clinical course, diagnosis and management of such voice changes are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of minor voice changes after thyroidectomy. We also tried to assess the significance and feasibility of superior laryngeal nerve monitoring and to find out the optimal evaluation tools for such voice changes after thyroidectomy. Materials and Method : Nine adult patients who received total thyroidectomy without evidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were enrolled for this prospective study. Voice evaluations were performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively ; acoustic analyses including voice range profile, aerodynamic study, stroboscopic evaluation and subjective voice assessment with questionnaires. The external branch of superior laryngeal nerve was monitored by nerve stimulator after ligation of superior thyroidal vessels. Results: Four of nine patients complained their voice change at 3 months after the surgery. Three of them reported complete recovery of their voice at 6 months after the surgery. Acoustic analysis revealed significant decrease in their phonatory range especially with high tone loss. Questionnaires related to singing was more sensitive than previously well-known "voice handicap index". Stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve was feasible in most of the cases (94.4%), but it failed to show any correlation with minor voice changes after thyroidectomy. Conclusion : Minor voice changes were not rare events during the first 6 month after thyroidectomy. Decrease in phonatory range with high tone loss and therefore, discomfort in singing was the most common finding. Superior laryngeal monitoring was feasible but it was not a sensitive tool for the prediction of minor voice change after thyroidectomy.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.13 no.10
• /
• pp.15-23
• /
• 2012

A numerical model and field monitoring data are used to estimate a change in groundwater level at a borrow site, which will be constructed at the mountainous area with a large ground excavation in the study area, Hwaseong city. Lithologic data and hydraulic coefficients are collected at 9 boreholes and also groundwater levels are measured at these boreholes and existing wells in the study area. Additionally, groundwater recharge rate for the type of land cover is estimated using water budget analysis; 133.34mm/year for a mountainous area, 157.68mm/year for a farming area, 71.08mm/year for an urbanized area, and 26.06mm/year for a bedrock exposure area. The change in groundwater level in and around a borrow site is simulated with Modflow using these data. The result of a transient model indicates that a removal of high ground (over 40El.m) by an excavation will produce a decrease in groundwater levels, up to 1 m, around a borrow site in 10 years. It also explains that this ground excavation will bring about the decreases of 9.4% and 7.0% for groundwater recharge and surface runoff, respectively, which are the factors causing groundwater level's change. This study shows that it is required to construct the groundwater monitoring wells to observe the change of groundwater near a borrow site.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.401-408
• /
• 2005

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the development of various human diseases. Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) is one of the major means by which cells counteract the deleterious effects of ROS. SOD activity is dependent upon bound copper ions supplied by its partner metallochaperone protein, copper chaperone for SOD (CCS). In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of PEP-1-CCS against neuronal cell death and ischemic insults. When PEP-1-CCS was added to the culture medium of neuronal cells, it rapidly entered the cells and protected them against paraquat-induced cell death. Moreover, transduced PEP-1-CCS markedly increased endogenous SOD activity in the cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that it prevented neuronal cell death in the hippocampus in response to transient forebrain ischemia. These results suggest that CCS is essential to activate SOD, and that transduction of PEP-1-CCS provides a potential strategy for therapeutic delivery in various human diseases including stroke related to SOD or ROS.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.337-344
• /
• 2002

Runx2, a Runt-related osteoblast-specific transcription factor, is essential for osteoblast differentiation and function. Runx2 was identified as a key regulator of osteoblast-specific gene expression through its binding to the OSE2 element present in these genes. However, little is known about the signaling mechanism regulating Runx2 activity. This study examines the role of protein kinase C (PKC) pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in regulating Runx2 and bone marker genes (osteopontin; OP, osteocalcin; OC). Luciferase assay and Northern blot analysis suggested that the stimulation of PKC by PMA increased transcription activity of Runx2 and bone marker genes (OP and OC) and also increased expression of Runx2. The stimulation of MAPK by okadaic acid increased transcription activity of Runx2 and bone marker genes (OP and OC). Pretreatment with PD98059 (Erk pathway inhibitor) and SB203580 (P38 pathway inhibitor) prior to PMA treatment decreased PMA stimulated Runx2 activity. Together these results indicate that both PKC and MAPKs are involved in the regulation of Runx2 activity and also the stimulation of Runx2 transcriptional activity by the PKC pathway is through activation of MAPK pathway.

• The Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.58-67
• /
• 1995

The paper describes the variation of magnetic fields caused by the operation of induction motors. The measuring system consists of the self-integrating magnetic field sensor, amplifier, and active integrator. From the calibration experiments, the frequency bandwidth of the magnetic field measuring system ranges from 20[Hz] to 300[kHz] and sensitivity is 0.234(mV/$\mu\textrm{T}$]. The magnetic fields generated under steady state and starting operations of duction motor are recorded by the proposed measuring system, and the fast Fourier transformation(FFT) of the measured data is performed to analyze the harmonic components. A single pulsed magnetic field is strongly caused by direct starting the induction motor, and its peak value is greater than 5 times as compared with the steady state value. The long transient duration and high intensity originates from the large inductance and dynamic characteristic of the induction motor, During the steady state operation of induction motor, subharmonics of magnetic field components, which depend on the pole number of induction motor, are observed. The lower order power-line harmonics can be inferred from the voltage flicker and current ripple which are derived from the torque fluctuation of induction motor. In the case of the induction motor drived by inverter, the harmonics of magnetic field are much more than those caused by direct starting method and are found generally to increase with decreasing the driving frequency.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.23-60
• /
• 2016

The major objective of this study was to develop further understanding of 3D nearshore hydrodynamics under a variety of wave and tidal forcing conditions. The main tool used was a comprehensive 3D numerical model - combining the flow module of Delft3D with the WAVE solver of XBeach - of nearshore hydro- and morphodynamics that can simulate flow, sediment transport, and morphological evolution. Surf-swash zone hydrodynamics were modeled using the 3D Navier-Stokes equations, combined with various turbulence models (${\kappa}-{\varepsilon}$, ${\kappa}-L$, ATM and H-LES). Sediment transport and resulting foreshore profile changes were approximated using different sediment transport relations that consider both bed- and suspended-load transport of non-cohesive sediments. The numerical set-up was tested against field data, with good agreement found. Different numerical experiments under a range of bed characteristics and incident wave and tidal conditions were run to test the model's capability to reproduce 3D flow, wave propagation, sediment transport and morphodynamics in the nearshore at the field scale. The results were interpreted according to existing understanding of surf and swash zone processes. Our numerical experiments confirm that the angle between the crest line of the approaching wave and the shoreline defines the direction and strength of the longshore current, while the longshore current velocity varies across the nearshore zone. The model simulates the undertow, hydraulic cell and rip-current patterns generated by radiation stresses and longshore variability in wave heights. Numerical results show that a non-uniform seabed is crucial for generation of rip currents in the nearshore (when bed slope is uniform, rips are not generated). Increasing the wave height increases the peaks of eddy viscosity and TKE (turbulent kinetic energy), while increasing the tidal amplitude reduces these peaks. Wave and tide interaction has most striking effects on the foreshore profile with the formation of the intertidal bar. High values of eddy viscosity, TKE and wave set-up are spread offshore for coarser grain sizes. Beach profile steepness modifies the nearshore circulation pattern, significantly enhancing the vertical component of the flow. The local recirculation within the longshore current in the inshore region causes a transient offshore shift and strengthening of the longshore current. Overall, the analysis shows that, with reasonable hypotheses, it is possible to simulate the nearshore hydrodynamics subjected to oceanic forcing, consistent with existing understanding of this area. Part II of this work presents 3D nearshore morphodynamics induced by the tides and waves.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.168-177
• /
• 2020

Background: Ginseng has been widely used as a health-promoting tonic. Gintonin present in ginseng acts as a lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor ligand that activates six LPA receptor subtypes. The LPA6 subtype plays a key role in normal hair growth, and mutations in the LPA6 receptor impair normal human hair growth. Currently, human hair loss and alopecia are concerning issues that affect peoples' social and day-to-day lives. Objective: We investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of a gintonin-enriched fraction (GEF) on mouse hair growth. Methods: Human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) and six-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were used. The mice were divided into the four groups: control, 1% minoxidil, 0.75% GEF, and 1.5% GEF. The dorsal hair was removed to synchronize the telogen phase. Each group was treated topically, once a day, for 15 days. We analyzed hair growth activity and histological changes. Results: GEF induced transient [Ca²⁺]_i, which stimulated HFDPC proliferation and caused 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation in a concentration-dependent manner. GEF-mediated HFDPC proliferation was blocked by the LPA receptor antagonist and Ca²⁺ chelator. HFDPC treatment with GEF stimulated vascular endothelial growth factor release. Topical application of GEF and minoxidil promoted hair growth in a dose-dependent manner. Histological analysis showed that GEF and minoxidil increased the number of hair follicles and hair weight. Conclusion: Topical application of GEF promotes mouse hair growth through HFDPC proliferation. GEF could be one of the main components of ginseng that promote hair growth and could be used to treat human alopecia.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.655-661
• /
• 2010

To elucidate the mechanism underlying the suppressive regulation of hST8Sia I expression in retinoic acid (RA)-induced SK-MEL-2 cells, we characterized the promoter region of the hST8Sia I gene. Functional analysis of the 5‘-flanking region of the hST8Sia I gene by the transient expression method showed that the -1146 to -646 region, which contains putative binding sites for transcription factors c-Ets-1, CREB, AP-1 and NF-kB, functions as the RA-repressive promoter in SK-MEL-2 cells. Site-directed mutagenesis and ChIP analyses indicated that the NF-kB binding site at -731 to -722 is crucial for the RA-induced repression of hST8Sia I in SK-MEL-2 cells. In addition, the transcriptional activity of hST8Sia I suppressed by RA in SK-MEL-2 cells was strongly inhibited by extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) inhibitor U0126 and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor GO6976, as determined by RT-PCR and luciferase assay of hST8Sia I promoter containing the -1146 to -646 regions. These results suggest that RA markedly modulates transcriptional regulation of hST8Sia I gene expression through the PKC/ERK signal pathway in SK-MEL-2 cells.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.285-291
• /
• 2015

Exposure to cold sea water can be life-threatening to the drowned individual. Although appropriate life jacket can be usually be provided for the buoyance at the drowning accident, heat loss can make the drowned individual experience the hypothermia. Inflatable life jackets filled with inflatable air pocket can increase the thermal protection as well as the buoyancy force. Because it is important to know how the human body behaves unde the different life jacket, present study compares the thermal insulation capacity of solid type life jacket with that of inflatable life jacket. In order to represent the insulation capacity of life jacket, thermal resistance is estimated based on the assumption of steady-state. Also, a transient three-dimensional thermal distribution of the thigh is analyzed by using finite element method implementing the Pennes bioheat equation. The finite element model is a segmental, multi-layered representation of the body section which considers the heat conduction within tissue, bone, fat and local blood flow rate.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.143-150
• /
• 1996

This is an explicit-Implicit, finite element analysis for linear as well as nonlinear hygrothermal stress problems. Additional features, such as moisture diffusion equation, crack element and virtual crack extension(VCE ) method for evaluating J-integral are implemented in this program. The Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics(LEFM) Theory is employed to estimate the crack driving force under the transient condition for and existing crack. Pores in materials are assumed to be saturated with moisture in the liquid form at the room temperature, which may vaporize as the temperature increases. The vaporization effects on the crack driving force are also studied. The Ideal gas equation is employed to estimate the thermodynamic pressure due to vaporization at each time step after solving basic nodal values. A set of field equations governing the time dependent response of porous media are derived from balance laws based on the mixture theory Darcy's law Is assumed for the fluid flow through the porous media. Perzyna's viscoplastic model incorporating the Von-Mises yield criterion are implemented. The Green-Naghdi stress rate is used for the invariant of stress tensor under superposed rigid body motion. Isotropic elements are used for the spatial discretization and an iterative scheme based on the full newton-Raphson method is used for solving the nonlinear governing equations.