• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.299-309
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• 1999

The composite resin, due to its esthetic qualities, is considered the material of choice for restoration of anterior teeth. With respect to shade control, the direct-placement resin composites offer some distinct advantages over indirect restorative procedures. Visible-light-cured (VLC) composites allow dentists to match existing tooth shades or to create new shades and to evaluate them immediately at the time of restoration placement. Optimal intraoral color control can be achieved if optical changes occurring during application are minimized. An ideal VLC composite, then, would be one which is optically stable throughout the polymerization process. The shade guides of the resin composites are generally made of plastic, rather than the actual composite material, and do not accurately depict the true shade, translucency, or opacity of the resin composite after polymerization. So the numerous problems associated with these shade guides lead to varied and sometimes unpredictable results. The aim of this study was to assess the color changes of current resin composite restorative materials which occur as a result of the polymerization process and to compare the color differences between the shade guides provided with the products and the actual resin composites before- and after-polymerization. The results obtained from this investigation should provide the clinician with information which may aid in improved color match of esthetic restoration. Five light activated, resin-based materials (${\AE}$litefil, Amelogen Universal, Spectrum TPH VeridonFil-Photo, and Z100) and shade guides were used in this study. Three specimens of each material and shade combination were made. Each material was condensed inside a 1.5mm thick metal mold with 10mm diameter and pressed between glass plates. Each material was measured immediately before polymerization, and polymerized with Curing Light XL 3000 (3M Dental products, USA) visible light-activation unit for 60 seconds at each side. The specimens were then polished sequentially on wet sandpaper. Shade guides were ground with polishing stones and rubber points (Shofu) to a thickness of approximately 1.5mm. Color characteristics were performed with a spectrophotometer (CM-3500d, Minolta Co., LTD). A computer-controlled spectrophotometer was used to determine CIELAB coordinates ($L^*$, $a^*$ and $b^*$) of each specimen and shade guide. The CIELAB measurements made it possible to evaluate the amount of the color difference values (${\Delta}E{^*}ab$) of resin composites before the polymerization process and shade guides using the post-polishing color of the composite as a control, CIE standard D65 was used as the light source. The results were as follows. 1. Each of the resin composites evaluated showed significant color changes during light-curing process. All the resin composites evaluated except all the tested shades of 2100 showed unacceptable level of color changes (${\Delta}E{^*}ab$ greater than 3.3) between pre-polymerization and post-polishing state. 2. Color differences between most of the resin composites tested and their corresponding shade guides were acceptable but those between C2 shade of ${\AE}$litefil and IE shade of Amelogen Universal and their respective shade guides exceeded what is acceptable. 3. Comparison of the mean ${\Delta}E{^*}ab$ values of materials revealed that Z100 showed the least overall color change between pre-polymerization and post-polishing state followed by ${\AE}$litefil, VeridonFil-Photo, Spectrum TPH, and Amelogen Universal in the order of increasing change and Amelogen Universal. Spectrum TPH, 2100, VeridonFil-Photo and ${\AE}$litefil for the color differences between actual resin and shade guide. 4. In the clinical environment, the shade guide is the better choice than the shade of the actual resin before polymerization when matching colors. But, it is recommended that custom shade guides be made from resin material itself for better color matching.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.69-79
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• 2004

In the process of photon treatments, linear accelerators with energies higher than 10 MV produce neutrons through the (${\gamma}$, n) interactions with the composite materials of the linac head md these materials further produce the induced radiations. We investigate the possible risks from these induced radiations especially in the wedge filters to the radiation workers. Wedge filters are used to modify the isodose profiles in the radiation treatment using the linear accelerator and always be handled by the radiation workers. For the background radiation, we measured the radiation in both the waiting room and the outside of the building for two hospitals, S and H. The results of S hospital were $0.11\;{\mu}Sv/hr$ and $0.10\;{\mu}Sv/hr$ for waiting room and outside respectively, and in the case of H hospital, they were $0.12\;{\mu}Sv/hr$ and $0.11\;{\mu}Sv/hr$. Using a survey meter, we measured the radiation from wedge filters inserted in 10 MV and 15 MV Siemens linear accelerators. The time series measurements were done in ${\sim}1$ minutes after exposure of 5 Gy of monitor units for the field size of $25{\times}25cm^2$. The starting value of 10 MV machine was about $3.26\;{\mu}Sv/hr$, which was three times higher than that of 10 MV. The measured radiation was from $^{28}Al$ and $^{53}Fe$ with a half life of 3.5 min. If the treatment patients are $20{\sim}50$ per day and the number of process of wedge filter change per patient is one or two, the annual dose equivalent is $0.08{\sim}0.4\;mSv$ for 10 MV, and $0.27{\sim}1.36\;mSv$ for 15 MV, which are in the range of dose equivalent limits of radiation workers.

• Journal of Society of Occupational Therapy for the Aged and Dementia
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.87-95
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• 2018

Objective : Vibration stimulators are easier to obtain in clinical settings than other treatment tools, and it is advantageous that the arm activation training can be performed passively. Despite the following advantages, recent studies on vibration sense have not been activated yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vibration sensation on the hands of the affected upper limb on unilateral reduction of stroke patients. Method : Patients with unilateral neglect due to stroke were enrolled in this study for about 3 weeks from October 19, 2018 to November 7, The research design used ABA design among the single-subject experimental research design, and a total of 18 circuits (4 baseline, 6 intervention, 3 baseline regression) were performed once a day on weekdays Respectively. MMES-K was used to select the subjects. Line bisection test (LBT), Albert's test and Star Cancellation Test (SCT) were used as unilateral neglect test. For the analysis, the baseline and intervention period measurements were visually analyzed using graphs and mean values were used. Result : All three evaluations showed that the number of errors missed during the training period was lower than the baseline period, and this decrease remained after training. The error was reduced by an average of $2{\pm}1.2$ omissions and an average omissions of $0.6{\pm}0.5$ omitting an average of $4.5{\pm}1$ omissions in the line break test. As a result of the Albert test, the average error decreased by $22.5{\pm}1.9$ omissions and $8{\pm}7.3$ omissions and $0.3{\pm}0.5$ omissions, respectively. In the star clearance test, the average error decreased from $26{\pm}4.6$ to $21.8{\pm}1.7$ and $20{\pm}0$, respectively. Conclusion : In this study, vibrotactile stimulation therapy showed a continuous effect on improving unilateral neglect. Based on these findings, further research should be conducted in order to improve objectivity in future studies. Further research on various arbitration methods that maximize the effect of intervention will be needed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.294-308
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• 2002

Background : The cell-mediated immune response plays an important role in tuberculosis. After being activated by mycobacterial antigens, T lymphocytes express a high affinity receptor (IL-2R) for interleukin-2 (IL-2) on their own surface and release a soluble fraction of the IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) from the cell membrane into the circulation. Neopterin is a metabolite of guanosine-triphosphate, which is produced by stimulated macrophages under the influence of IFN-$\gamma$ with a T lymphocyte origin. Therefore, the utility of sIL-2R, IFN-$\gamma$ and the neopterin levels as immunologic indices of the cell-mediated immune response and severity of disease in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was assessed. Methods : The serum sIL-2R, IFN-$\gamma$ and neopterin levels were measured in 39 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 6 patients with tuberculous lymphadenitis prior to treatment and 10 healthy subjects. The serum and pleural sIL-2R, neopterin and ADA levels were measured in 22 patients with tuberculous pleurisy. The patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were divided into a mild, moderate and severe group according to the severity by ATS guidelines. To compare the results from these patients with those of the pretreatment levels, the sIL-2R, IFN-$\gamma$ and neopterin levels were measured in 36 of the 39 patients(1 patient, expired; 2 patients were referred to a sanitarium) with pulmonary tuberculosis after 2 months of treatment. Results : 1) the serum sIL-2R and IFN-$\gamma$ levels were elevated in patients with tuberculosis when compared to those of healthy subjects (p>0.05). The neopterin concentration in the serum was significantly lower in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis($2967{\pm}2132.8$ pg/ml) than in healthy controls($4949{\pm}1242.1$ pg/ml)(p<0.05). 2) In the pulmonary tuberculosis group, the serum sIL-2R and IFN-$\gamma$ levels were higher in patients with severe disease than those in patients with mild and moderate disease. However, the neopterin levels declined as the pulmonary tuberculosis became more severe (p<0.01). 3) The mean serum sIL-2R and IFN-$\gamma$ levels declined from $1071{\pm}1139.4$ U/ml to $1023{\pm}1920.9$ U/ml(p>0.05), $41{\pm}52.8$ pg/ml to $22{\pm}23.9$ gm/ml(p<0.05), respectively, after 2 month of treatment. The mean serum neopterin levels increased from $3158{\pm}2272.6$ pg/ml to $3737{\pm}2307.5$ pg/ml(p>0.05) after a 2 month of treatment. These findings were remarkable in the severe group of pulmonary tuberculosis with a clinical correlation. 4) In the patients with tuberculous pleurisy, the serum sIL-2R and ADA were significantly higher than those in the pleural fluid, However, the neopterin levels in the sera and pleural effusion were similar. Conclusion : On the basis of this study, sIL-2R, IFN-$\gamma$ and neopterin measurements may not only provide an insight into the present state of the cell-mediated immune response, but also serve as parameters monitoring of the prognosis of the disease, particularly in patients with severe pulmonary tuberculosis. In addition, an assay of the pleural sIL-2R levels might signal a stimulated local immunity including T cell activation in the tuberculous pleural effusion.