• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2011

Background: A peripheral extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (p-ECMO) has been developed to support patients who are dying due to a serious cardiopulmonary condition. This analysis was planned to define the clinical situation in which the patient benefits most from a p-ECMO. Material and Methods: Between June 2007 and Aug 2009, a total of 41 adult patients used the p-ECMO. There were 23 males and 18 females (mean age $54.4{\pm}15.1$ years). All patients had very unstable vital signs with hypoxia and complex cardiac problems. We divided the patients into 4 groups. In the first group, a p-ECMO was used as a bridge to cardiac operation. In the second group, patients did not have the opportunity to undergo any cardiac procedures; nevertheless, they were treated with a p-ECMO. In the third group, patients mostly had difficulty in weaning from CPB (cardiopulmonary bypass) after cardiac operation. The fourth group suffered from many complications, such as pneumonia, bleeding, infections, and LV dysfunction with underlying cardiac problems. All cannulations were performed by the Seldinger technique or cutting down the femoral vessel. A long venous cannula of $DLP^{(R)}$ (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, MN) or $RMI^{(R)}$ (Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA) was used together with a 17~21 Fr arterial cannula and a 21 Fr venous cannula. As a bypass pump, a Capiox emergency bypass system ($EBS^{(R)}$; Terumo, Tokyo, Japan) was used. We attempted to maintain a flow rate of $2.4{\sim}3.0\;L/min/m^2$ and an activated clotting time (ACT) of around 180 seconds. Results: Nine patients survived by the use of the p-ECMO. Ten patients were weaned from a p-ECMO but they did not survive, and the remainder had no chance to be weaned from the p-ECMO. The best clinical situation to apply the p-ECMO was to use it as a bridge to cardiac operation and for weaning from CPB after cardiac operation. Conclusion: Various clinical results were derived by p-ECMO according to the clinical situation. For the best results, early adoption of the p-ECMO for anatomical correction appears important.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2007

Purpose: Hemorrhagic shock is the leading cause of death in patients with pelvic bone fractures. The majority of blood loss is due to injured pelvic arteries and retroperitoneal veins and to bleeding from the fracture site itself. Pelvic angiography and embolization of injured vessels is an effective way to control continuous bleeding. However, identifying the bleeding focus in hemodynamically unstable patients before diagnostic intervention is difficult. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between fracture patterns in hemodynamically unstable patients with pelvic fractures and later pelvic angiography findings. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 21 hemodynamically unstable patients with pelvic fractures admitted to our emergency department between April 2001 to April 2006. All 21 patients underwent pelvic angiography. Pelvic fractures were assessed according to the Tile's classification and the degree of injury was assessed using the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and Revised Trauma Score (RTS). The hemodynamic status of the patients was defined using vital signs, base excess, and blood lactate. Fracture patterns were compared with hemodynamic status and angiography findings. Results: In the 5year study period, 21 hemodynamically unstable pelvic bone fracture patients were admitted; ten were men (47.6%), and 11 were women (52.4%). The mean age was 41.1 years (range: ${\pm}20.1$). Of the 21 embolization was performed in 6 patient (28.6%): 1 patient of the 5 unstable pelvic bone fracture patients (20%), and 5 patients of 16 the stable pelvic bone fracture patients (31.3%). There were no significant differences between the RTS (p=0.587) and embolization rate (p=0.774) for either the stable patients or the unstable patients. Patients with arterial injury on angiography had a lower RTS compared with patients without arterial injury but there was no significant difference in ISS between the two groups. The angiographic injured sites were five internal femoral arteries and one external femoral artery. Conclusion: The findings in this study suggest that the pelvic fracture pattern in hemodynamically unstable patients with pelvic fractures does not correlate with pelvic angiography findings.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.488-493
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• 2008

This study compared the effect of injectable combinations of anesthetics on each of the fluorescein angiographic phases in order to determine the most useful anesthetic combination for the procedure. Acepromazineketamine (AK), xylazine-ketamine (XK), diazepam-ketamine (DK) and zolazepam-tiletamine (ZT) group were administered randomly to 8 dogs with a two-week interval between different combination doses. The vital signs including the heart rate and arterial pressure were measured before anesthesia and every five minutes during anesthesia. Serial angiographic images were obtained after injecting a sodium fluorescein dye (25 mg/kg) and the onset time of arterial phase (AP), arteriovenous phase (AVP), early venous phase (EVP) and late venous phases (LVP) were recorded. The onset time of the AP, AVP and EVP were significantly slower in the AK and XK groups than in the DK and ZT groups. The total duration of the AP and AVP in the AK group was significantly longer than those in the ZT group. The heart rates were significantly higher in the DK and ZT groups. The arterial pressure was significantly higher in the AK and XK groups (p<0.05). There were significant differences in each angiographic onset time and duration depending on the changes in the heart rates and arterial pressure. The AK and XK groups showed a long angiographic duration allowing an accurate evaluation. Overall, it is believed that AK and XK are more useful for performing fluorescein retinal angiography than DK and ZT.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2008

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiologic features of febrile illnesses in newborns and to predict the risk of serious infections in this population. Methods : A retrospective study was conducted on 123 full-term infants <30 days of age with an axillary temperature >38$^{\circ}C$ who were hospitalized between 2000 and 2006. Neonates with prenatal risk factors, congenital anomalies, antibiotic administration prior to admission to the hospital, or suspected hospital-acquired infections were excluded. We evaluated the symptoms, physical examination findings, laboratory data, and clinical course between the high- and low-risk groups for serious infections. Results : The high-risk group included 30 infants with the following diagnoses in order of frequency: aseptic meningitis, urinary tract infection, bacterial meningitis, infectious enteritis, sepsis concomitant with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, bacteremia, pneumonia, cellulitis, and omphalitis. Leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia were statistically different between the two groups. Factors, such as moaning signs, seizures, body temperature, and pulse rate were statistically significant. Conclusion : Unlike previous studies, we included newborns with clinical bacterial infections and aseptic meningitis as the high-risk group. Leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, moaning signs, seizures, and changes in vital signs were considered useful predictors for identifying febrile neonates at high-risk for serious infections in spite of a difference in the definition of serious infection.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-63
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• 2004

Purpose: The Hospice Oriented Medical Record (HOMR) was developed for assessing the pain and symptoms of terminal cancer patients. Methods and Results: The HOMR consists of an instruction for users and 2 assessment pages which include the graph showing vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate and pain score), current problem lists, performance status, laboratory data, pain characteristics and management, sedation score, associated symptoms and drug side effects, etc. Pilot study was performed in the inpatient Hospice Care Unit in Guro Hospital, Korea University Medical Center. Because an one-week progress data was recorded in HOMR as a flow sheet, the patient's condition and pain control status could be seen at a glance. Conclusion: The HOMR is useful for assessing the terminal cancer patients because it is simple and convenient to use. Further research is needed before it can be universally used in the clinical settings.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2019

Purpose: The study examined the poisoned patients' characteristics nationwide in Korea by using data from the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS). Methods: Among the patients' information sent to NEDIS from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015, the included subjects' main diagnosis in ED showed poisoning according to the 7th edition of the Korean Standard Disease Classification (KCD-7). We analyzed the patients' gender, age, initial vital signs, visit time, stay time of staying in ED, results of ED care, main diagnosis in ED, length of hospitalization, and results of hospitalization. Results: A total of 106,779 ED visits were included in the analysis. There were 55,878 males (52.3%), which was more than the number of females. The number of intentional poisoning was 49,805 (59.6%). 75,499 cases (70.8%) were discharged, and 25,858 cases (24.2%) were hospitalized. The numbers of poisoning patients per 1,000 ED visits were 14 in Chungnam and 11.9 in Jeonbuk. The most common cause of poisoning, according to the main diagnosis, was venomous animals. It was the same for hospitalized patients, and pesticide was next. Pesticide was the most common cause of mortality in ED (228 cases, 46.1%) and after hospitalization (584 cases, 54.9%). The incidence of poisoning by age group was frequent for patients in their 30s to 50s, and mortality in ED and post-hospitalization were frequent for patients in their 60s to 80s. Conclusion: This study investigated the characteristics of poisoning patients reported in the past 3 years. Pesticide poisoning had a high mortality rate for patients in ED and in-hospital. For mortality, there was a high proportion of elderly people over 60. Thus, policy and medical measures are needed to reduce this problem. Since it is difficult to identify the poison substance in detail due to nature of this study, it is necessary to build a database and monitoring system for monitoring the causative substance and enacting countermeasures.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.106-115
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• 2021

Sperm cryopreservation is an important method of assisted reproductive techniques and storing genetic resources. It plays a vital role in genetic improvement, livestock industrial preservation of endangered species, and clinical practice. Consequently, the cryopreservation technique is well organized through various studies, especially on Korean native cattle (Hanwoo). However, the cryopreservation technique of Korean native brindled cattle, which is one of the native cattle species in Korea, is not well organized. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a Supplementary Table technique for the cryopreservation of Korean native brindled cattle. For this purpose, it is important to first evaluate the quality of the currently produced cryopreserved sperm of Korean native brindled cattle. In this study, we randomly selected 72 individual Korean native brindled cattle semen samples collected from 8 different region research centers and used them to evaluate sperm functions. We focused on the quality evaluation of cryopreserved Korean native brindled cattle semen following the measurement of motion kinematics, capacitation status, intracellular ATP level, sperm motility, and cell viability. Then, the values of each of the eight groups were derived from various sperm parameters of nine individual samples, including sperm motility, kinematics, cellular motility, and intracellular ATP levels, which were used to compare and evaluate sperm function. Overall, differences in various sperm parameters were observed between most of the research centers. Particularly, the deviations of motility and motion kinematics were high according to the sample. Therefore, we suggest that it is necessary to develop a standard method for the cryopreservation of Korean native brindled cattle semen. We also suggest the need for sperm quality evaluation of the cryopreserved semen of Korean native brindled cattle before using artificial insemination to attain a high fertility rate.

• Yonsei Medical Journal
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.1096-1106
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• 2018

Purpose: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. MicroRNAs have been identified as vital players in neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. microRNA-128 (miR-128) has been shown to be dysregulated in AD. This study aimed to explore the roles and molecular mechanisms of miR-128 in AD progression. Materials and Methods: Expression patterns of miR-128 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($PPAR-{\gamma}$) messenger RNA in clinical samples and cells were measured using RT-qPCR assay. $PPAR-{\gamma}$ protein levels were determined by Western blot assay. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Cell apoptotic rate was detected by flow cytometry via double-staining of Annexin V-FITC/PI. Caspase 3 and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity was determined by a Caspase 3 Activity Assay Kit or $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65 Transcription Factor Assay Kit, respectively. Bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assay were used to investigate interactions between miR-128 and $PPAR-{\gamma}$ 3'UTR. Results: MiR-128 expression was upregulated and $PPAR-{\gamma}$ expression was downregulated in plasma from AD patients and $amyloid-{\beta}$ $(A{\beta})-treated$ primary mouse cortical neurons (MCN) and Neuro2a (N2a) cells. Inhibition of miR-128 decreased $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity through inactivation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells. Moreover, $PPAR-{\gamma}$ was a target of miR-128. $PPAR-{\gamma}$ upregulation attenuated $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity by inactivating $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells. Furthermore, $PPAR-{\gamma}$ downregulation was able to abolish the effect of anti-miR-128 on cytotoxicity and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activity in MCN and N2a cells. Conclusion: MiR-128 inhibitor decreased $A{\beta}-mediated$ cytotoxicity by upregulating $PPAR-{\gamma}$ via inactivation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ in MCN and N2a cells, providing a new potential target in AD treatment.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.36.1-36.9
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• 2020

Background: Pseudorabies, also known as Aujeszky's disease, is caused by the pseudorabies virus (PRV) and has been recognized as a critical disease affecting the pig industry and a wide range of animals around the world, resulting in great economic losses each year. Shandong province, one of the most vital food animal-breeding regions in China, has a very dense pig population, within which pseudorabies infections were detected in recent years. The data, however, on PRV epidemiology and coinfection rates of PRV with other major swine diseases is sparse. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the PRV epidemiology in Shandong and analyze the current control measures. Methods: In this study, a total number of 16,457 serum samples and 1,638 tissue samples, which were collected from 362 intensive pig farms (≥ 300 sows/farm) covered all cities in Shandong, were tested by performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Overall, 52.7% and 91.5% of the serum samples were positive for PRV-gE and -gB, respectively, based on ELISA results. In addition, 15.7% of the tissue samples were PCR positive for PRV. The coinfection rates of PRV with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and classical swine fever virus were measured; coinfection with PCV2 was 35.0%, higher than those of the other two viruses. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions were observed in various tissues during histopathological examination. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the PRV prevalence and its coinfection rates in Shandong province and indicate that pseudorabies is endemic in pig farms in this region. This study provides epidemiological data that can be useful in the prevention and control of pseudorabies in Shandong, China.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.107-119
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• 2023

The technology that recognizes a soldier's motion and movement status has recently attracted large attention as a combination of wearable technology and artificial intelligence, which is expected to upend the paradigm of troop management. The accuracy of state determination should be maintained at a high-end level to make sure of the expected vital functions both in a training situation; an evaluation and solution provision for each individual's motion, and in a combat situation; overall enhancement in managing troops. However, when input data is given as a timer series or sequence, existing feedforward networks would show overt limitations in maximizing classification performance. Since human behavior data (3-axis accelerations and 3-axis angular velocities) handled for military motion recognition requires the process of analyzing its time-dependent characteristics, this study proposes a high-performance data-driven classifier which utilizes the long-short term memory to identify the order dependence of acquired data, learning to classify eight representative military operations (Sitting, Standing, Walking, Running, Ascending, Descending, Low Crawl, and High Crawl). Since the accuracy is highly dependent on a network's learning conditions and variables, manual adjustment may neither be cost-effective nor guarantee optimal results during learning. Therefore, in this study, we optimized hyperparameters using Bayesian optimization for maximized generalization performance. As a result, the final architecture could reduce the error rate by 62.56% compared to the existing network with a similar number of learnable parameters, with the final accuracy of 98.39% for various military operations.