• Title/Summary/Keyword: Alternative methods

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Multiple transcripts of anoctamin genes expressed in the mouse submandibular salivary gland

  • Han, Ji-Hye;Kim, Hye-Mi;Seo, Deog-Gyu;Lee, Gene;Jeung, Eui-Bae;Yu, Frank H.
    • Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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    • v.45 no.2
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    • pp.69-75
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    • 2015
  • Purpose: Salivary fluid formation is primarily driven by Ca2+-activated, apical efflux of chloride into the lumen of the salivary acinus. The anoctamin1 protein is an anion channel with properties resembling the endogenous calcium-activated chloride channels. In order to better understand the role of anoctamin proteins in salivary exocrine secretion, the expression of the ten members of the anoctamin gene family in the mouse submandibular gland was studied. Methods: Total RNA extracted from mouse submandibular salivary glands was reverse transcribed using primer pairs to amplify the full-length coding regions of each anoctamin gene and was subcloned into plasmid vectors for DNA sequencing. Alternative splice variants were also screened by polymerase chain reaction using primer pairs that amplified six overlapping regions of the complementary DNA of each anoctamin gene, spanning multiple exons. Results: Multiple anoctamin transcripts were found in the mouse submandibular salivary gland, including full-length transcripts of anoctamin1, anoctamin3, anoctamin4, anoctamin5, anoctamin6, anoctamin9, and anoctamin10. Exon-skipping splicing in the N-terminal exons of the anoctamins1, anoctamin5, and anoctamin6 genes resulted in multiple alternative splice variants. No expression of anoctamin2, anoctamin7, or anoctamin8 was found. Conclusions: The predominant anoctamin transcript expressed in the mouse submandibular gland is anoctamin1ac. The chloride channel protein produced by anoctamin1ac is likely responsible for the $Ca^{2+}$-activated chloride efflux, which is the rate-limiting step in salivary exocrine secretion.

Migration of Additives from Domestic Plastic Food Contact Materials and Application of Alternative Fatty Food Simulant (국내 합성수지 식품포장재에서의 첨가제 이행과 유지식품용 대체시뮬란트의 응용)

  • 이창성;이근택;이광호
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.132-140
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    • 1997
  • Additives in plastics are capable of migrating from the packaging materials into the foodstuffs, thereby presenting a source of contamination and a potential health risk to the consumer. The migration from packaging materials into foodstuffs is first of all regulated by examining the amounts of global and specific migrated components. Besides, there is worldwide still a need for practical methods for measuring and monitoring migration from polymers, especially for the testing of migration into fatty foodstuffs. Therefore, these studies were undertaken to investigate the safety status of domestic plastic packaging materials with respect to migration. Another objective of this study was to examine the applicability of ethanol as an alternative fatty food simulant substituting for olive oil and n-heptane. The evaporation residues for various dometic plastic samples determined as described in Korean food laws were in the level from 4.3 to 14.5 mg/$\ell$, which were much lower than the limit value of 150 mg/$\ell$. The global migration values into 95 % ethanol showed to be comparable to those into n-heptane, while the olive oil migration values were comparably higher than those into ethanol or n-heptane and moreover they were not reproducible. The kinetic migration begavior of additives in polyolefin samples into 95% ethanol showed a Fickian diffusion process. The results of these studies on global migration and kinetic testings demonstrate that the ethanol could be successfully substitute for the olive oil and n-heptane as an alternative fatty food simulant, at least in contact with polyoefins.

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A Study on the Cost and Proportion of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Total Healthcare Cost among Elderly in the Last 6 Months of Life (사망전 노인의 전체보건의료비용에서 보완대체요법 비용과 비용분율에 관한 연구)

  • Yi, Jee-Jeon;Ohrr, Hee-Choul;Yi, Sang-Wook
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.141-149
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    • 2004
  • Objectives : To evaluate the cost and proportion of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in the total healthcare costs among the elderly in the last 6 months of life. Methods : The care-giving families of 301 persons older than 65 years, who died between July 1st and December 31st of 2001, and were also registered in Self-Employed Health Insurance Programs in Seoul, were interviewed. Results : The cost of CAM was 1.09 million Won, which as a proportion of the total healthcare cost was 38.1%. The elderly aged between 65 and 69 year-old, male, living with their spouse, Buddhist and having cancers had higher CAM costs in an ANOVA and simple regression analysis. After controlling of various factors, age was the only significant factor associated with the cost of CAM. The elderly above 80 years old, female, bereaved and Buddhist had higher proportional CAM costs, and the elderly having cancers or cardiovascular diseases had lower proportional CAM costs in an ANOVA and simple regression analysis. After adjusting for various factors, the elderly above 85 years old, female and Buddhist had higher proportional CAM costs, and the elderly having cancers had lower proportional CAM costs. Conclusion : The very old and Buddhist, and/or the ill with no clear diagnosis, may depend more on CAM. Further research will be needed on the meaning and impact of CAM and their costs to public health and the total healthcare system.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Korea : Prevalence, Pattern of Use, and Out-of-pocket Expenditures (우리 나라 국민의 보완요법 이용률, 이용양상과 비용지출)

  • Khang, Young-Ho;Lee, Moo-Song;Koo, Hee-Jo;Kang, Wee-Chang;Hong, Chang-Gi;Lee, Sang-Il
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.546-555
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    • 1999
  • Objectives : To determine the prevalence, pattern. and out-of-pocket expenditure of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilization in Korean adult population. Methods : We conducted a representative telephone survey of 2,042 persons aged 18 or older. Data about any health problem, details of their use of medical doctors(MDs) offices/hospitals/pharmacies services and CAM during the preceding 12 months were collected with structured questionnaire. Results : The utilization rate of CAM among Korean adults was 29% in one year. A total of 231 kinds of CAM was identified from this survey. Annual out-of-pocket expenditure associated with CAM use in 1998 amounted to ${\xi}{\S}1.88$ billion and was comparable to 40.8% of out-of-pocket expenditure paid for MDs offices/hospitals/pharmacies services. Among those(N=424) who paid for both MDs offices/hospitals/pharmacies services an d CAM, 35.8% paid more for CAM. CAM gave more satisfaction than western medicine to those who had experience of both types of therapy. About half of CAM users were willing to recommend CAM to others. Disclosure rate to physician among CAM users was not high(40.6%). Conclusion : CAM became a popular source of health care in Korea, Korean spent a substantial amount of out-of-pocket money on CAM without any public control. Because CAM use is likely to be increased rapidly through lay referral system, health policy makers and health professionals should pay more attention to CAM for making appropriate utilization of CAM.

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Development of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Curriculum for Undergraduate Students at College of Oriental Medicine (한의과대학 학부생을 위한 보완대체의학 교육과정 개발 연구)

  • Lee, Soo-Jin;Park, Su-Zanne H.;Shin, Sang-Woo;Chae, Han
    • The Journal of Korean Medicine
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.25-38
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    • 2008
  • Objectives : Integrative medicine in Korea is the 21st century-style medical practice of two orthodox medical doctrines, traditional Korean medicine and western conventional medicine, as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM with scientific evidence should be incorporated in undergraduate curricula for the purpose of Korean integrative medicine. Methods : Items of detailed objectives, syllabi, textbooks, instructor's experiences, and effectiveness and reason for difficulty of the CAM curriculum for undergraduate students were analyzed and the preference of CAM therapies and others were also evaluated. Results and Discussion : The effectiveness of this CAM class curriculum was high (8.0$\pm$1.4) enough to be used in other Oriental medical colleges. Development of ability for self-study was rated as 7.0$\pm$1.7 and the helpfulness for clinical use was marked as 6.8$\pm$1.9. Students preferred placebo, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, yoga, functional food, bio-feedback and homeopathy. The difficulty degree was 7.2$\pm$1.6, and the amount of content was suggested as the major reason for it. We also found that this curriculum can be a model for self-oriented study and problem-based learning. Discussions were made for the improvement of the implemented CAM curriculum, which was shown to be very effective for the achievement of Korean integrative medicine. Conclusion : We have successfully installed a CAM curriculum for undergraduate students at the College of Oriental Medicine, and it can be used in others.

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Research Trend Analysis of the Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Korea (국내 보완대체의학 사용 실태조사 연구의 동향 분석)

  • Kim, Sul-Gi;Lee, Sang-Hun;Seo, Hyun-Ju;Baek, Seung-Min;Choi, Sun-Mi
    • The Journal of Korean Medicine
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    • v.33 no.1
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    • pp.24-41
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    • 2012
  • Objectives: This study reviewed research trends concerning the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and to suggest future research directions appropriate to medical circumstances in Korea. Methods: We searched for surveys of CAM use in 8 databases including 6 Korean databases, Ovid MEDLINE, and the CINAHL electronic database. Three independent reviewers working in pairs screened titles and abstracts of articles for eligibility. Full text was retrieved in case of disagreement on the eligibility. The main analysis targets included survey researcher's affiliation, terminology used in the title, study subject, definition of CAM, classifications of CAM modalities, and the area assortment of CAM and traditional Korean medicine (TKM). Results: 92 articles were included for analysis. The major constituent of affiliation was doctors (53%). According to years, study subjects were diversified to a large range of diseases. Since 2003, terminology is absorbed to use CAM. But actually, the most commonly used definition in the research was comprehensive such as "not generally considered part of major medicine" (55.4%) and the most used classification of CAM was self-criteria (61.9%). As for area assortment of CAM and TKM, many therapies exist in a gray zone between CAM and TKM. Conclusions: Standardized definition and classification criteria about CAM fit to the Korean healthcare system have not yet developed. For traditional Korean medicine academia, more concern should be paid to establishing appropriate development of definitions and classification criteria.

Optimal Threshold from ROC and CAP Curves (ROC와 CAP 곡선에서의 최적 분류점)

  • Hong, Chong-Sun;Choi, Jin-Soo
    • The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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    • v.22 no.5
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    • pp.911-921
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    • 2009
  • Receiver Operating Characteristic(ROC) and Cumulative Accuracy Profile(CAP) curves are two methods used to assess the discriminatory power of different credit-rating approaches. The points of optimal classification accuracy on an ROC curve and of maximal profit on a CAP curve can be found by using iso-performance tangent lines, which are based on the standard notion of accuracy. In this paper, we offer an alternative accuracy measure called the true rate. Using this rate, one can obtain alternative optimal threshold points on both ROC and CAP curves. For most real populations of borrowers, the number of the defaults is much less than that of the non-defaults, and in such cases the true rate may be more efficient than the accuracy rate in terms of cost functions. Moreover, it is shown that both alternative scores of optimal classification accuracy and maximal profit are the identical, and this single score coincides with the score corresponding to Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic used to test the homogeneous distribution functions of the defaults and non-defaults.

Biosynthesized Platinum Nanoparticles Inhibit the Proliferation of Human Lung-Cancer Cells in vitro and Delay the Growth of a Human Lung-Tumor Xenograft in vivo -In vitro and in vivo Anticancer Activity of bio-Pt NPs-

  • Bendale, Yogesh;Bendale, Vineeta;Natu, Rammesh;Paul, Saili
    • Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.114-121
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    • 2016
  • Objectives: Lung cancer remains a deadly disease with unsatisfactory overall survival. Cisplatin, a standard platinum (Pt)-based chemotherapeutic agent, has the potential to inhibit the growth of lung cancer. Its use, however, is occasionally limited by severe organ toxicity. However, until now, no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy with proper experimental support in vivo. Therefore, we examined whether biosynthesized Pt nanoparticles (NPs) inhibited human lung cancer in vitro and in vivo to validate their use in alternative and complementary medicine. Methods: We evaluated the in vitro and the in vivo anticancer efficiencies of biosynthesized Pt NPs in a subcutaneous xenograft model with A549 cells. Severe combined immune deficient mice (SCID) were divided into four groups: group 1 being the vehicle control group and groups 2, 3 and 4 being the experimental groups. Once the tumor volume had reached $70-75mm^3$, the progression profile of the tumor growth kinetics and the body weights of the mice were measured every week for 6 weeks after oral administration of Pt NPs. Doses of Pt NPs of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg of body weight were administered to the experimental groups and a dose of honey was administered to the vehicle control group. The efficacy was quantified by using the delay in tumor growth following the administration of Pt NPs of A549 human-lung-cancer xenografts growing in SCID mice. Results: The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation indicated that Pt NPs, in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the growth of A549 cells, and the in vivo evaluation showed that Pt NPs at the mid and high doses effectively inhibited and delayed the growth of lung cancer in SCID mice. Conclusion: These findings confirm the antitumor properties of biosynthesized Pt NPs and suggest that they may be a cost-effective alternative for the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

The Current State of Clinical Practice Guidelines on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Paediatrics in Countries except East Asia (동아시아를 제외한 국가에서 보완대체의학 중재를 포함한 소아 대상 임상진료지침의 현황 보고)

  • Shim, Soo Bo;Lee, Ju Ah;Lee, Hye Lim
    • The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.75-85
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    • 2020
  • Objectives Although clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are becoming crucial in medical decision-making worldwide, there are very few development guidelines for children. Therefore, this preliminary study aimed to assess the status of worldwide except east asia-CPGs recommending complementary and alternative medicine interventions (CAM-i) in children worldwide except east asia in order to help developing Korean medicine CPGs (KMCPGs) for children. Methods To identify the current status of CPGs including CAM-i that have been developed so far, the author searched the related databases, and selected CPGs for children. The data related to the status of evidence-based CPGs, the materials related to the characteristics of CAM-i, and the details of recommendations for CAM-i were selected from the obtained findings. Results A total of 106 CPGs were identified based on the searches, of which 11 were finally selected as pediatric CPGs. These pediatric CPGs have been developed since 2007 to target various diseases. The countries developing these CPGs include the United Kingdom, Scotland, Australia, and the United States, with the U.K. having the largest share. The majority of CPGs used MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane library as databases. The most frequently recommended topic was acupuncture, followed by herbal medicine. Many CPGs suggested that more research was needed. Conclusions Through this study, the author was able to identify the characteristics of the developed pediatric CPGs that include CAM-i. More preceding studies are needed for the development of pediatric KMCPGs. It is hoped that this report can be used as the foundation for future development of pediatric KMCPGs.

Utilization of the Outflowing Groundwater Resources in an Underpass Structure

  • Jin, Kyu-Nam;Park, Jae-Hyeon;Lee, Jung-Min;Lee, Sang-Ho
    • Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.117-121
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    • 2013
  • For underpasses in Yeongjong Sky City business district, the guided drainage system, as a buoyancy prevention system has been designed, and is under construction. This paper investigates the safety of the guided drainage system for underpass structures being constructed in Yeongjong Sky City business district. This paper also calculates the amount of outflowing groundwater generated by the guided drainage system, and proposes alternative usages of the water. In order to investigate safety and field applicability of the guided drainage system for underpasses, characteristics of the surface flow for the area of interest have been analyzed, and the flow change of groundwater following the underpass structure construction has been evaluated using the 3-dimensional groundwater program MODFLOW. The influence of ground water on safety of the underpass structures has been calculated by FLAC2D analysis. For alternative usages for the outflowing groundwater generated by the guided drainage system, utilization methods of the outflowing groundwater in national and international resources have been researched. The amount of an outflowing groundwater to be generated in the area of interest has been analyzed, and efficient potential usages of this groundwater have been researched. When guided drainage technique is applied, the change in flow of groundwater must be evaluated and considered as safety factor relating to the buoyancy of the structure. As a result, safety factor demonstrated more than 1.2, meaning that the underpass structure is safe. The amount of subsoil drain generated by the guided drainage system was also analyzed. The quality and amount of water satisfied the standards and volume requirements, so as to make it applicable for a number of uses, such as X, Y, and Z, and should prove to be a valuable resource as the circumstances of the neighboring area change over time. These resources can be used as basic data for future urban water circulation studies, as well as generating research of alternative water usages.