• Title/Summary/Keyword: Alternative methods

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A Clinical Study of Electroacupuncture and Auricular Acupuncture for Abdominal Pain Relief in Patients with Pancreatitis: A Pilot Study (췌장염 환자의 복통 호전을 위한 전침 및 이침 치료 예비 임상연구 프로토콜)

  • Kang, Ha Ra;Lee, Yeon Sun;Kim, Hye Ryeon;Kim, Eun Jung;Kim, Kyung Ho;Kim, Kap Sung;Jung, Chan Yung;Lee, Jun Kyu
    • Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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    • v.34 no.1
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    • pp.47-55
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    • 2017
  • Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of further acupuncture research as an effective alternative and safe treatment for abdominal pain control in patients with pancreatitis. Methods and Results : This study is an open-label, assessment-blind, parallel designed pilot clinical trial. Thirty participants will be assigned to the acupuncture group(n=15) and usual care group(n=15). All patients will receive the conventional standard-of-care(SOC) therapy, but only the experimental group will receive acupuncture therapy six times a week, and the duration of acupuncture therapy will be held up to 12 weeks or until the pains are to be resolved. For the conventional SOC therapy, painkiller will be given. In treatment group, the subjects will receive the identical SOC therapy in combination with electroacupuncture therapy on twelve acupuncture points(LI4, PC6, SP6, GB39, ST36, ST37), and auricular acupuncture therapy on five auricular acupuncture points(Sympathetic, Shen Men, Abdomen, Pancreas gall, and Spleen). The primary outcome will be measured using the visual analogue scale(VAS), and the secondary outcome will be measured using the painkiller demand, quality of life index and severity of pancreatitis by abdominal computed tomography(CT). Assessments will be made at baseline and at week 1, 4, 8 and 12. Results of abdominal CT will be evaluated at baseline and at week 12. Conclusions : The result of this trial will provide a basis for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for abdominal pain in patients with pancreatitis.

The Systematization and Intensification Environmental Education in Music Education (음악과에서의 환경 교육 체계화와 강화 방안)

  • 장기범
    • Hwankyungkyoyuk
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.205-224
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    • 1999
  • This is a study of strengthening the practice of environmental education in the primary and secondary school music program. Since the world war II, the environmental situation has been getting worse and worse. So it is now a global issue to conserve energy and solving the ecological problems we are confronting. Solving the environmental problem is not just a scientist's task nor a specific school education subject's either, but a responsibility of all human beings. In this sense, it is necessary for every school subject, including music, should include elements of environmental education in its education contents. in this paper the researcher has tried to point out some reasonable aspects of environmental education guidelines which would be pursued through school music programs. In the music subject the following eight environmental education strategies could be suggested: 1. An affective aspect of music should be used in educating students to aware of the importance of environmental problems. 2. The effectiveness of employing music for various educational purposes should be implemented to make students environmentally enlightened individual. 3. The main issue of environmental problem must be used in various musical activities such as singing, implementing, composing and appreciating music. 4. By employing an alternative materials for making musical instruments, students and musicians can participate in environmental education program actively. 5. Music is analogues to life and nature. Thus it is highly suggested for teachers to teach students music more sincerely In a way of studying music more seriously, students could achieve environmental education goals by discovering the similarities of the nature of the environment and music as a human environment. 6. By appreciating many musical works of dealing with environmental problems and ecological problems, one could achieve the necessary goals of environmental education. 7. By enlarging the boundary of music including the sounds of nature such as birds' singing, sounds of winds and various streams and tree's trembling, music could achieve the major goals of environmental education. 8. By recognizing sounds as an important human environment, school music program could attain the goals of environmental education. The researcher also has mentioned about the characteristics of music as a schooling subject. and has provided with some detailed curriculum guidelines for strengthening environmental education programs in music classes. Some model lesson plans implementing the environmental education for elementary, junior high school and 10th grade music classes are also suggested followed by six specific teaching & learning methods for environmental education.

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Meat Species Identification using Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay Targeting Species-specific Mitochondrial DNA

  • Cho, Ae-Ri;Dong, Hee-Jin;Cho, Seongbeom
    • Food Science of Animal Resources
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    • v.34 no.6
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    • pp.799-807
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    • 2014
  • Meat source fraud and adulteration scandals have led to consumer demands for accurate meat identification methods. Nucleotide amplification assays have been proposed as an alternative method to protein-based assays for meat identification. In this study, we designed Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays targeting species-specific mitochondrial DNA to identify and discriminate eight meat species; cattle, pig, horse, goat, sheep, chicken, duck, and turkey. The LAMP primer sets were designed and the target genes were discriminated according to their unique annealing temperature generated by annealing curve analysis. Their unique annealing temperatures were found to be $85.56{\pm}0.07^{\circ}C$ for cattle, $84.96{\pm}0.08^{\circ}C$ for pig, and $85.99{\pm}0.05^{\circ}C$ for horse in the BSE-LAMP set (Bos taurus, Sus scrofa domesticus and Equus caballus); $84.91{\pm}0.11^{\circ}C$ for goat and $83.90{\pm}0.11^{\circ}C$ for sheep in the CO-LAMP set (Capra hircus and Ovis aries); and $86.31{\pm}0.23^{\circ}C$ for chicken, $88.66{\pm}0.12^{\circ}C$ for duck, and $84.49{\pm}0.08^{\circ}C$ for turkey in the GAM-LAMP set (Gallus gallus, Anas platyrhynchos and Meleagris gallopavo). No cross-reactivity was observed in each set. The limits of detection (LODs) of the LAMP assays in raw and cooked meat were determined from $10pg/{\mu}L$ to $100fg/{\mu}L$ levels, and LODs in raw and cooked meat admixtures were determined from 0.01% to 0.0001% levels. The assays were performed within 30 min and showed greater sensitivity than that of the PCR assays. These novel LAMP assays provide a simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive technology for discrimination of eight meat species.

Suppression of Cocaine Intake by Acupuncture at HT7

  • Lee, Bong-Hyo;Kim, Sung-Hwan;Lim, Sung-Chul;Kim, Jae-Su;Lee, Yun-Kyu;Lee, Ji-Hye;Jung, Tae-Young;Yang, Chae-Ha;Yoon, Seong-Shoon;Han, Chang-Hyun;Lee, Kyung-Min
    • The Journal of Korean Medicine
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.17-27
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    • 2010
  • Objectives: Cocaine has been well known as a representative drug of abuse for its strong reinforcing effect linked to the mesolimbic reward system including dopamine, and such reinforcement leads to the addiction. Acupuncture has been used widely in eastern Asia for the treatment of various diseases including mental disorders and psychiatric problems, and is gathering more interest as one of the complementary and alternative medicines in western countries. In a previous study, we demonstrated that acupuncture at HT7 could affect dopamine release in the mesolimbic system of rats sensitized to alcohol and morphine. This study was designed to investigate whether acupuncture at HT7 could attenuate cocaine intake or not. Material & Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 270-300 g at the start of experiment were trained to self-administer food pellets under a fixed ratio 1 schedule. After the success of acquisition of 100 pellets within 3 h for 3 consecutive days, animals were subjected to surgery whereby Silastic tubing was implanted into right jugular vein and secured with mesh under the anesthetization using pentobarbital injection (50 mg/kg, i.p.). Following recovery, rats were trained to self-administer cocaine (0.25 mg/kg) in daily 2 h sessions under fixed ratio 1 schedule over 10 days. Each treatment was performed on the next day of each establishment of baseline. Results: Results show that acupuncture at HT7, but not at control points, reduced cocaine intake significantly. Acupuncture at HT7 decreased selectively active lever response from $63.15{\pm}3.35$ to $51.46{\pm}3.99$ corresponding $82.12{\pm}5.31%$ compared to basal level. Also, it was demonstrated that the effect of acupuncture was mainly occurred at the half period. Nevertheless, acupuncture at HT7 did not influence the food taking behavior. Conclusions: From the results of this study, it may be suggested that acupuncture at HT7, at least in part, could contribute to the treatment of cocaine abuse.

The Efficacy of Acupuncture for Postoperative Pain in Patients with Solid Tumor : A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis (고형암 환자의 수술 후 통증에 대한 침 치료 효과 : 체계적 문헌고찰 및 메타분석)

  • Yoon, Sung Soo;Ryu, Han Sung;Oh, Hye Kyung;Lee, Jee Young;Yoon, Seong Woo
    • Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.1-11
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    • 2017
  • Objectives: Postoperative pain is one of postoperative complications in patients with solid tumor. This systematic review and meta-analysis were aimed to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture for postoperative pain in solid tumor. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture for postoperative pain in adult patients with solid tumor up to September 2016. Acupuncture was defined as manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture and pharmacopuncture. The following databases were searched: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CiNii, KoreaMed, Kmbase, KISS, NDSL, KISTI. The results of the studies were meta-analyzed and the risk of bias was assessed. Results: Five studies were included in this review. When acupuncture was compared with usual care, Prince-Henry pain scale score was significantly lower in acupuncture group (MD=-0.44, 95% CI: -0.62 to -0.26, P<0.001, $I^2=87%$) and 10 points pain score (including Numeric Rating Scale and Visual Analog Scale) was lower in acupuncture group but not significantly (MD=-1.00, 95% CI: -2.00 to -0.00, p=0.05). When acupuncture was compared with sham acupuncture, 10 points pain score was significantly lower in acupuncture group (MD=-0.39, 95% CI: -0.65 to -0.14, p=0.002, $I^2=0%$). Any serious adverse events were not reported. Conclusion: This review shows that acupuncture may be considered for postoperative pain in patients with solid tumor without serious adverse events. However, only a few studies were included in this study, further investigation is needed in this area.

Business Network Characteristics among Chungcheongbukdo-Based Top 300 Enterprises: Focused on Sales Relationship (충청북도 300대 기업 네트워크 특성분석: 판매관계를 중심으로)

  • Kim, Sun-Duck;Hong, Sung-Ho;Lee, Man-Hyung
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.14 no.9
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    • pp.437-449
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    • 2014
  • In order to suggest alternative directions for the regional development of Chungcheongbukdo through social network analysis (SNA) methods, this study highlights networking features of Chungcheongbukdo-based top 300 enterprises. In particular, it has paid attention to network relationships among participating enterprises and their basic structure, all of which play pivotal roles in provincial development. Major networking features among Chungcheongbukdo-based top 300 enterprises are dichotomized between structural and positional dimensions. Firstly, in terms of structural approach, this research confirms that both relational density indices and average connectivity levels among key enterprises have been extremely low. Therefore, the exchange networks seem relatively limited. That is, two enterprises could be interconnected after 1.1 stages in average, implying that the most popular types come from direct relationship among participating enterprises. In addition, this research finds that 7 major networks hinged upon 'distributed centralization types' present active information exchange, taking in charge of brokerage roles, all of which have contributed to broader network formation. Nonetheless, as the weight of minor network outweighs that of major network, more active supporting measures should be designed.

The Aspiration of Injected Air via an Epidural Catheter as an Indicator for Appropriate Placement of the Catheter in the Epidural Space (경막외 카테터의 적합한 위치지표로서의 주입공기의 흡인)

  • Cheong, Soon Ho;Park, Dae Sik;Moon, Sung Ho;Cho, Kwang Rae;Lee, Sang Eun;Kim, Young Hwan;Lim, Se Hun;Lee, Jeong Han;Lee, Kun Moo;Choe, Young Kyun;Kim, Young Jae;Shin, Chee Mahn
    • The Korean Journal of Pain
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.124-129
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    • 2009
  • Background: The "gold standard" for proper epidural catheter positioning is a clinical response, as assessed by a pinprick test. Yet it may take time or it may be difficult to perform this test after epidural catheter placement in sedated or uncooperative patients or during general anesthesia. We assessed the usefulness of aspirating injected air via an epidural catheter as an indicator of correct epidural catheter placement. Methods: We surveyed 200 patients who underwent surgery under general or epidural anesthesia. A Tuohy needle was inserted into the epidural space with using the hanging drop technique. After placement of the epidural catheter, 3 ml of air was injected via the catheter, and then the volume of aspirated air was measured. Results: The mean volume of aspirated air was $2.3{\pm}0.7ml$ (75% of the injected air volume) and this ranged from 0 to 3 ml. Conclusions: Aspiration of injected air is a simple alternative method for identifying the appropriate placement of epidural catheters in the epidural space.

Production of Biodiesel Using Immobilized Lipase from Proteus vulgaris (Proteus vulgaris에서 유래한 리파아제의 고정화 및 바이오디젤 생산)

  • Yoon, Shin-Ah;Han, Jin-Yee;Kim, Hyung-Kwoun
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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    • v.39 no.3
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    • pp.238-244
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    • 2011
  • Biodiesel, mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids, is one of the alternative fuels derived from renewable lipid feedstock, such as vegetable oils or animal fats. For decade, various lipases have been used for the production of biodiesel. However, the production of biodiesel by enzymatic catalyst has profound restriction in industry application due to high cost. To overcome these problems, many research groups have studied extensively on the selection of cheap oil sources, the screening of suitable lipases, and development of lipase immobilization methods. In this study, we produced biodiesel from plant oil using Proteus vulgaris lipase K80 expressed in Escherichia coli cells. The recombinant lipase K80 was not only expressed in high level but also had high specific lipase activity and high stability in various organic solvents. Lipase K80 could produce biodiesel from olive oil by 3-stepwise methanol feeding method. The immobilized lipase K80 also produced biodiesel using the same 3-stepwise method. The immobilized lipase could produce biodiesel efficiently from various plant oils and waste oils.

Oxygen-deficient Reduced TiO2-X: Surface Properties and Photocatalytic Activity

  • Sinhamahapatra, Apurba;Jeon, Jong-Pil;Yu, Jong-Sung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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    • 2016.11a
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    • pp.59-75
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    • 2016
  • Reduced or black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials with oxygen-deficiency have been achieved by creating oxygen vacancies and/or defects at the surface using different methods. Fascinatingly, they exhibited an extended absorption in VIS and IR instead of only UV light with bandgap decrease from 3.2 (anatase) to ~1 eV. However, despite the dramatic enhancement of optical absorption in black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials, they have failed to show expected visible light-assisted water splitting efficiency. This was ascribed to the high concentration of the surface defects and/or oxygen vacancies, considered as an electron donor to enhance donor density and improve the charge transportation in black $TiO_2$ can also act as charge recombination centers, which eventually decrease photocatalytic activity. Therefore, a black ot reducd $TiO_2$ material with optimized properties would be highly desired for visible light photocatalysis. In this report, a new controlled magnesiothermic reduction has been developed to synthesize reduced black $TiO_{2-x}$ in the presence $H_2/Ar$ for photocatalytic $H_2$ production from methanol-water system. The material possesses an optimum band gap and band position, oxygen vacancies, and surface defects and shows significantly improved optical absorption in the visible and infrared region. The synergistic effects enable the reduced $TiO_{2-x}$ material to show an excellent hydrogen production ability along with long-term stability under the full solar wavelength range of light and visible light, respectively, in the methanol-water system in the presence of Pt as a co-catalyst. These values are superior to those of previously reported black $TiO_2$ materials. On the basis of all the results, it can be realized that the outstanding activity and stability of the reduced of $TiO_{2-x}$ NPs suggest that a balanced combination of different factors like $Ti^{3+}$, surface defects, oxygen vacancy, and recombination center is achieved along with optimized bandgap and band position during the preparation employing magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$. The controlled magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$ is one of the best alternative ways to produce active and stable $TiO_2-based$ photocatalyst for $H_2$ production.

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Local Behavior of Structural Details for Orthotropic Steel Deck Bridge with Longitudinal Rib of Open Section and Retrofitting Method of Fatigue Cracks (개단면리브를 갖는 강바닥판 교량의 국부거동 분석 및 피로균열 보강방안)

  • Lee, Sung Jin;Kyung, Kab Soo;Lee, Hee Hyun;Jeon, Jun Chang
    • Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.33-44
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    • 2013
  • Although many studies have been performed for the structural details of orthotropic steel deck, most of them were focused on the trough rib of standard type, but not for orthotropic steel deck with longitudinal rib of open section used at beginning of the deck. In order to investigate the cause of fatigue crack for orthotropic steel deck bridge serviced 31 years with longitudinal rib of open section, in this study, the behavior characteristics of target structural details were analyzed based on measurement data under real traffic condition. Also the typical loading truck passing the target bridges was estimated with the structural analysis detailed, and the stresses and deformation patterns of target structural details were analyzed by performing the detailed structural analysis. Based upon the analysis, retrofitting methods of the fatigue crack were suggested and its validation was examined. From this study, it was clarified that fatigue crack of longitudinal rib with open section were affected with the stress increment by shear deformation in the rib and the occurrence of alternative stress due to moving vehicle. In addition, it was known that it is important to perform fatigue design reflected the local behavior of the structural details.