• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.19.1-19.18
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• 2021

Clinical and molecular phenotypes of asthma are complex. The main phenotypes of adult asthma are characterized by eosinophil and/or neutrophil cell dominant airway inflammation that represent distinct clinical features. Upper and lower airways constitute a unique system and their interaction shows functional complementarity. Although human upper airway contains various indigenous commensals and opportunistic pathogenic microbiome, imbalance of this interactions lead to pathogen overgrowth and increased inflammation and airway remodeling. Competition for epithelial cell attachment, different susceptibilities to host defense molecules and antimicrobial peptides, and the production of proinflammatory cytokine and pattern recognition receptors possibly determine the pattern of this inflammation. Exposure to environmental factors, including infection, air pollution, smoking is commonly associated with asthma comorbidity, severity, exacerbation and resistance to anti-microbial and steroid treatment, and these effects may also be modulated by host and microbial genetics. Administration of probiotic, antibiotic and corticosteroid treatment for asthma may modify the composition of resident microbiota and clinical features. This review summarizes the effect of some environmental factors on the upper respiratory microbiome, the interaction between host-microbiome, and potential impact of asthma treatment on the composition of the upper airway microbiome.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 1989

Six cases of ovarian fibrous stromal neoplasm were studied clinically, light microscopically and ultrastructurally for the clinico-pathological evidences of hormone production. Of the six cases, two cases were fibroma, three cases were fibrothecoma, and one case was thecoma. Two cases of fibroma and one fibrothecoma were associated with clinical history of menstrual abnormality, however fat staining of the tumor was negative or weakly positive. Two cases of fibrothecoma and one thecoma were negative for the clinical history of hormone imbalance. Fat stain of those cases revealed positive in varying intensity. Ultrastructural examination of fibroma-thecoma group revealed dark and pale cells by their nuclear characteristics. The dark cells had indented nucleus and abundant cytoplasmic organelles of rough ER, Golgi apparatus and mitochondria. Intracytoplasmic cisternal spaces were seen in the dark cell cytoplasm and some lipid droplets were seen around the cisternae. Pale cells had pale swollen nucleus and fine chromatins. Their cytoplasm showed scanty amount of organelles. Fibroma-thecoma spectrum showed varying degree of population of dark cells, light cells and intervening collagenous stroma. Lipid droplet was structurally associated with intracytoplasmic cisterna and they were frequently seen in thecoma and two of the fibrothecoma. But clinical history of hormone imbalance was poorly related to the light microscopic morphology and ultrastructural organization.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2021

This study proposes a DAB two-stage series structure with insulated bidirectional DC-DC converter for two-way power transfer between the renewable energy of high voltages (1 kV and above). The proposed circuit transforms the existing DAB converter into a two-stage series structure to reduce the pressure in the switch. The problem of power imbalance occurring in the design of the DAB converter second-stage series is improved by applying the cell balancing method circuit and the common mode coupled inductor using an external flying capacitor instead of reflecting the existing improvement measures, voltage balance control, and inductor current control. In addition, a no-load supercharging sequence is proposed in high voltages and high-speed switching by using the fixed duty output method. This study presents the analysis results through the structure of the proposed circuit, the principle of improving the power imbalance problem, and simulations. Prototypes were manufactured to meet the specifications of input/output voltage of 1700 V, maximum load of 65 kW, and switching frequency of 51kHz, and the validity of the topology was verified using the experimental results and efficiency data.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2023

Spinal nerve injury causes mechanical allodynia and structural imbalance of neurotransmission, which were typically associated with calcium overload. Storeoperated calcium entry (SOCE) is considered crucial elements-mediating intracellular calcium homeostasis, ion channel activity, and synaptic plasticity. However, the underlying mechanism of SOCE in mediating neuronal transmitter release and synaptic transmission remains ambiguous in neuropathic pain. Neuropathic rats were operated by spinal nerve ligations. Neurotransmissions were assessed by whole-cell recording in substantia gelatinosa. Immunofluorescence staining of STIM1 with neuronal and glial biomarkers in the spinal dorsal horn. The endoplasmic reticulum stress level was estimated from qRT-PCR. Intrathecal injection of SOCE antagonist SKF96365 dose-dependently alleviated mechanical allodynia in ipsilateral hind paws of neuropathic rats with ED₅₀ of 18 ㎍. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that STIM1 was specifically and significantly expressed in neurons but not astrocytes and microglia in the spinal dorsal horn. Bath application of SKF96365 inhibited enhanced miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents in a dosage-dependent manner without affecting miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents. Mal-adaption of SOCE was commonly related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the central nervous system. SKF96365 markedly suppressed ER stress levels by alleviating mRNA expression of C/ EBP homologous protein and heat shock protein 70 in neuropathic rats. Our findings suggested that nerve injury might promote SOCE-mediated calcium levels, resulting in long-term imbalance of spinal synaptic transmission and behavioral sensitization, SKF96365 produces antinociception by alleviating glutamatergic transmission and ER stress. This work demonstrated the involvement of SOCE in neuropathic pain, implying that SOCE might be a potential target for pain management.

• Journal of Practical Engineering Education
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• v.16 no.1_spc
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• pp.59-64
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• 2024

As the aging population grows, the incidence of cancer is increasing. Skin cancer appears externally, but people often don't notice it or simply overlook it. As a result, if the early detection period is missed, the survival rate in the case of late stage cancer is only 7.5-11%. However, the disadvantage of diagnosing, serious skin cancer is that it requires a lot of time and money, such as a detailed examination and cell tests, rather than simple visual diagnosis. To overcome these challenges, we propose an Attention-based CNN model skin cancer classification system. If skin cancer can be detected early, it can be treated quickly, and the proposed system can greatly help the work of a specialist. To mitigate the problem of image data imbalance according to skin cancer type, this skin cancer classification model applies the Over Sampling, technique to data with a high distribution ratio, and adds a pre-learning model without an Attention layer. This model is then compared to the model without the Attention layer. We also plan to solve the data imbalance problem by strengthening data augmentation techniques for specific classes.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.147-155
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• 2014

Homeostatic imbalance between cell proliferation and death in gastric mucosal epithelia may lead to gastritis and gastric cancer. Despite abundant gastrokine 1 (GKN1) expression in the normal stomach, the loss of GKN1 expression is frequently detected in gastric mucosa infected with Helicobacter pylori, as well as in intestinal metaplasia and gastric cancer tissues, suggesting that GKN1 plays an important role in gastric mucosal defense, and the gene functions as a gastric tumor suppressor. In the stomach, GKN1 is involved in gastric mucosal inflammation by regulating cytokine production, the nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ signaling pathway, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. GKN1 also inhibits the carcinogenic potential of H. pylori protein CagA by binding to it, and up-regulates antioxidant enzymes. In addition, GKN1 reduces cell viability, proliferation, and colony formation by inhibiting cell cycle progression and epigenetic modification by down-regulating the expression levels of DNMT1 and EZH2, and DNMT1 activity, and inducing apoptosis through the death receptor-dependent pathway. Furthermore, GKN1 also inhibits gastric cancer cell invasion and metastasis via coordinated regulation of epithelial mesenchymal transition-related protein expression, reactive oxygen species production, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation. Although the modes of action of GKN1 have not been clearly described, recent limited evidence suggests that GKN1 acts as a gastricspecific tumor suppressor. This review aims to discuss, comment, and summarize the recent progress in the understanding of the role of GKN1 in gastric cancer development and progression.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.132-137
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• 2018

Background: The pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes inflammation, oxidative stress, an imbalance of proteases and antiproteases and apoptosis which has been focused on lately. Abnormal apoptotic events have been demonstrated in both epithelial and endothelial cells, as well as in inflammatory cells including neutrophils and lymphocytes in the lungs of COPD patients. An increased propensity of activated T lymphocytes to undergo apoptosis has been observed in the peripheral blood of COPD patients. Therefore, the apoptosis of T lymphocytes without activating them was investigated in this study. Methods: Twelve control subjects, 21 stable COPD patients and 15 exacerbated COPD patients were recruited in the study. The T lymphocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood using magnetically activated cell sorting. Apoptosis of the T lymphocytes was assessed with flow cytometry using Annexin V and 7-aminoactinomycin D. Apoptosis of T lymphocytes at 24 hours after the cell culture was measured so that the T lymphocyte apoptosis among the control and the COPD patients could be compared. Results: Stable COPD patients had increased rates of $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis at 24 hours after the cell culture, more than the $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis which appeared in the control group, while the COPD patients with acute exacerbation had an amplified response of $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis as well as of $CD8^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis at 24 hours after the cell culture. Conclusion: Stable COPD patients have more apoptosis of $CD4^+$ T lymphocytes, which can be associated with the pathophysiology of COPD in stable conditions.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2009

The brown tumors develop in bone and it develop on various area which in clavicle, rib bone, cervical bone, iliac bone etc. The development on the maxillofacial region is rare, relatively more develop on the mandible. The brown tumor directly develop by the dysfunction of calcium metabolism according to hyperparathyroidism and differential diagnosis with other bone lesion should be difficult if it would diagnose by only radiographic features. The histological feature is that proliferation of spindle cells with extravasated blood and haphazardly arranged, variably sized, multinucleated giant cell is seen. The brown tumor is firm diagnosed by physical examination, because of these histological feature show similar with other giant cell lesions(giant cell granuloma, aneurysmal bone cyst, cherubism). The brown tumors have been described as resulting from an imbalance of osteoclastic and osteoblastic activity. It result in bone resorption and fibrous replacement of the bone. So these lesions represent the terminal stage of hyperparathyroidism-dependent bone pathology. Therefore, it is the extremely rare finding that brown tumor in the facial bone as the first manifestation of an hyperparathyroidism. We experience 1 case of brown tumor(50 years old female) that developed on Maxilla and mandible with no history of hyperparathyroidism. So we report this case with a literature review.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.354-361
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• 2010

Glycosphingolipids are structural components of mammalian cell membranes and are involved in essential cellular physiology such as cell-cell interaction, recognition, transmembrane signaling, proliferation and cell death. In this study, the simple quantitative method of monoglycoceramides-containing glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide was developed. The glycosylceramides extracted from culture cells and rat plasma were resolved by TLC, deacylated by SCDase and analyzed by HPLC-fluorescence detector at an excitation wavelength of 340 nm and an emission wavelength of 455 nm. Limit of detection was approximately 0.1 pmol and limit of quantification was about 1 pmol for both monoglycoceramide standards. The recoveries of standard glucosylceramides from intra- and inter-day assays were 113.8 and 88.8% and those of galactosylceramides were 110.7 and 123.9%, respectively. The monoglycoceramide contents of SW-620 cells and rat plasma were $141.5{\pm}5$ pmol/$1{\times}10^6$ cells and $3.9{\pm}0.3{\mu}M$, respectively. The present analytical method provides a reproducible quantification and total content of monoglycoceramide which may be as a potential biomarker for lipid imbalance-related human diseases.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.127-136
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• 2023

In this study, the electrochemical performance of a 5-layer fuel cell stack using silica composite membranes as polymer electrolyte membranes was evaluated. It was observed that the flow rate of the fuel gases plays a crucial role in stack performance, particularly being mainly dependent on the flow rate of hydrogen. Increasing the flow rate of oxygen resulted in negligible changes in performance, whereas an increase in the flow rate of hydrogen demonstrated performance improvements. However, this led to an imbalance in the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen flow rates, causing significant degradation in stack performance and durability. A decline in stack performance was also observed over time due to the degradation of stack components. This phenomenon was consistently observed in individual unit cells. Based on these findings, it was emphasized that, in addition to optimizing the performance of each component during stack operation, it is important to optimize design and operating conditions for uniform flow rate control. Lastly, the developed silica composite membrane was assessed to have sufficient performance for application in actual fuel cell systems, exhibiting a performance of over 25 W based on maximum power.