• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.108-113
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• 2020

Objective: Endometrial fibrosis, the primary pathological feature of intrauterine adhesion, may lead to disruption of endometrial tissue structure, menstrual abnormalities, infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss. At present, no ideal therapeutic strategy exists for this fibrotic disease. Eupatilin, a major pharmacologically active flavone from Artemisia, has been previously reported to act as a potent inducer of dedifferentiation of fibrotic tissue in the liver and lung. However, the effects of eupatilin on endometrial fibrosis have not yet been investigated. In this study, we present the first report on the impact of eupatilin treatment on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-induced endometrial fibrosis. Methods: The efficacy of eupatilin on TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis was assessed by examining changes in morphology and the expression levels of fibrosis markers using immunofluorescence staining and quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Eupatilin treatment significantly reduced the fibrotic activity of TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis in Ishikawa cells, which displayed more circular shapes and formed more colonies. Additionally, the effects of eupatilin on fibrotic markers including alpha-smooth muscle actin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha, collagen type I alpha 1 chain, and matrix metalloproteinase-2, were evaluated in TGF-β-induced endometrial fibrosis. The expression of these markers was highly upregulated by TGF-β pretreatment and recovered to the levels of control cells in response to eupatilin treatment. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that suppression of TGF-β-induced signaling by eupatilin might be an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of endometrial fibrosis.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.55-70
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• 2016

Microfiltration/ultrafiltration (MF/UF) Adsorptive polyamide-6 (PA-6) membranes were prepared using wet phase inversion process. The prepared PA-6 membranes are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity and swelling degree. In this study, the membranes performance has examined by adsorptive removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions in a batch adsorption mode. The $PA-6/H_2O$ membranes display sponge like and highly porous structures, with porosities of 41-73%. Under the conditions examined, the adsorption experiments have showed that the $PA-6/H_2O$ membranes had a good adsorption capacity (up to 120-280 mg/g at the initial copper ion concentration ($C_0$) = 680 mg/L, pH7), fast adsorption rates and short adsorption equilibrium times (less than 1.5-2 hrs) for copper ions. The fast adsorption in this study may be attributed to the high porosities and large pore sizes of the $PA-6/H_2O$ membranes, which have facilitated the transport of copper ions to the adsorption. The results obtained from the study illustrated that the copper ions which have adsorbed on the polyamide membranes can be effectively desorbed in an Ethylene dinitrilotetra acetic acid Di sodium salt ($Na_2$ EDTA) solution from initial concentration (up to 92% desorption efficiency) and the PA-6 membranes can be reused almost without loss of the adsorption capacity for copper ions. The results obtained from the study suggested that the $PA-6/H_2O$ membranes can be effectively applied for the adsorptive removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.977-983
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• 2006

The objective was to devise an animal model of myocardial infarction (MI) against which cardioprotective drugs might be tested. We describe the effects of nimesulide, a COX experience with development and validation of such a model. The rabbit was chosen in preference to rodents because its heart and cardiac circulation more closely resemble those of human. Thus, the cardiovascular system of anaesthetized male rabbits, 1 to 1.5 kg (n=11), was stressed by a single bolus intravenous injection of isoprenaline (ISP), 65 mg/kg. The effects of the injection were followed for sixteen days and were evaluated in four ways: 1) measurements of creatinine kinase isozyme and troponin-I (TPI) in serum 2) Electrocardiographic (ECG) changes (ST elevation and Q wave development) 3) Cardiac histopathology observed in tissue sections of the isolated of the heart. The histopathological analysis showed that rabbit heart on 2nd day after ISP injection showed changes of coagulation necrosis. Day 4 total coagulation with the loss of nuclear and striation associated with heavy interstitial infiltrate of neutrophils was found. Day 8 after infarction showed collagen deposition with capillary channels in between the remaining islands of myocytes in the infarcted area. On the 16th day scarring was complete. Coronary perfusion rates (CPR) and heart rate (HR) of the infarcted and nimesulide (a COX-2 inhibitor) treated rabbits displayed significant improvement (n=11) on each corresponding day after infarction as compared to the infarcted and saline treated rabbits (P<0.05). All four indices revealed similarities with effects commonly associated with MI in humans.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2011

Background: Mature autogenous arteriovenous fistulas have better long term patency and require fewer secondary interventions compared to arteriovenous prosthetic graft. Our Study evaluated vascular patency rates and incidence of interventions in autogenous arteriovenous fistulas and grafts. Material and Methods: A total of 166 vascular access operations were performed in 153 patients between December 2002 and November 2009. Thirty seven caeses were excluded due to primary access failure and loss of follow-up. One group of 92 autogenous arterioveous fistulas and the other group of 37 arteriovenous prosthetic grafts were evaluated retrospectively. Primary and secondary patency rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The primary patency rate (84%, 67%, 51% vs. 51%, 22%, 9% at 1, 3, 5 year; p=0.0000) and secondary patency rate (96%, 88%, 68% vs. 88%, 65%, 16% at 1, 3, 5 year; p=0.0009) were better in autogenous fistula group than prosthetic graft group. Interventions to maintain secondary patency were required in 23% of the autogenous fistula group (average 0.06 procedures/patient/year) and 65% of prosthetic graft group (average 0.21 procedures/patient/year). So the autogenous fistula group had fewer intervention rate than prosthetic graft group (p=0.01) The risk factor of primary patency was diabetus combined with ischemic heart disease and the secondary patency's risk factor was age. Conclusion: Autogenous arteriovenous fistulas showed better performance compared to prosthetic grafts in terms of primary & secondary patency and incidence of interventions.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2017

Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1b (PHP 1b) is the result of end organ resistance to parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the absence of any features of Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy. There are two subtypes of PHP 1b with different genetic mechanisms. One subtype is related to a maternally derived 3kb microdeletion involving STX 16 gene, and is inherited in an autosomal dominant mode. Familial autosomal dominant inheritance of PHP 1b is relatively rare. The other subtype is associated with more extensive loss of imprinting at the GNAS locus that affects at least one additional differential methylated (hypermethylation at neuroendocrine secretory protein and hypomethylation at antisense transcript and or extra-large stimulatory G protein region) without microdeletion of the STX 16 or AS gene. It can be sporadic due to an imprinting defect in the GNAS gene. In our case, an 8-year-old girl was referred for suspected PHP with no feature of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy. Blood test results revealed hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia. Elevated PTH was also checked. There was no family history of endocrine or developmental problem. Her intelligence was normal, but she had inferior sociability at that time. Based on above, we diagnosed a rare case of paternal uniparental disomy of the long arm of chromosome 20 as the cause of PHP 1b by microsatellite marker test of chromosome 20.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.108-118
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• 1990

It is well known that the glucocorticoid suppresses the osteoblast and the calcitonin suppresses the osteoclast. If the calcitonin prevents the osteoporosis with increased Tc-99m MDP uptake in the long-term use of glucocorticoid, then the calcitonin has some activating effect on the bone formation. The immobilization operation was done on the left hind-leg of 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 300 g each. For 12 weeks after operation,8 rats were injected 0.5 mg/kg dexamethasone, and the other 8 rats were injected 0.5 mg/kg dexamethasone and $1\;\bar{u}/kg$ eel calcitonin. The bone mineral content was measured by the single photon absorptiometry and the Tc-99m MDP uptake was used as an index of the osteoblastic activity. 1) The Tc-99m MDP uptakes in the dexamethasone treated group were lower than those in the dexamethasone and calcitonin treated group, and there was no significant difference in Tc-99m MDP uptakes between the immobilized and normal femurs. 2) The bone mineral contents in the dexamethasone treated group were significantly lower than in the dexamethasone and calcitonin treated group, and the immobilized femurs had tower BMC than normal femurs. 3) The slope of regression between the BMC and Tc-99m MDP uptake was stiff in the dexamethasone treated group, and flat in the dexamethasone and calcitonin group, which shows discrepancy between the bone resorption and formation resulting prevention of net bone loss in the dexamethasone and calcitonin treated group. In conclusion, the calcitonin has some effect on the bone formation, and further studies with urinary hydroxyproline and cyclic AMP are expected.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2007

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of fresh versus frozen reconstituted botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) for the treatment of adductor type spasmodic dysphonia. Materials and Methods: After reconstitution with normal saline, BTX-A was used within 4 hours or it was kept frozen in a consumer grade freezer at about $-25^{\circ}C$ for up to 4 months. Thirty patients with spasmodic dysphonia were randomly assigned and treated with the either fresh or frozen BTX-A. About 83% of injections resulted in a satisfactory outcome with 5.3 months of mean action duration. Treatment outcomes and side effects of total 161 injections were compared along the duration of keeping BTX-A frozen. Results: There were no statistical differences in the duration of action, self-rated satisfaction score, and the duration of hoarseness and/or aspiration between fresh and frozen BTX-A treated groups. No significant side effects were observed and the frozen BTX-A were proved to be free of bacterial contamination. Conclusion: After being reconstituted and kept frozen, BTX-A may be safely used for more than 4 months without significant loss of its effectiveness or additional side effects.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2019

The head gap gene buttonhead (btd) is required for the patterning of head segments in the early Drosophila embryo. Mutant phenotypes of btd display a gap-like phenotype in which antennal, intercalary, mandibular and the anterior portion of the maxillary segments are eliminated. In agreement with the phenotypes, btd is expressed in a stripe covering the head segments at the blastoderm stage. During the early phase of the germband extension, btd is expressed in stripes with single segmental periodicity, which is required for the formation of the peripheral nervous system. In contrast to the key role of btd in Drosophila embryonic development, it has been suggested that Tribolium ortholog of btd (Tc-btd) is dispensable for embryonic head development. In order for better understanding of the requirement of Tc-btd in the early Tribolium embryo, we re-analyzed the expression patterns and functions of Tc-btd during embryonic segmentation. Tc-btd is expressed in segmental stripes at the stages of blastoderm and germband elongation. Up to 28.3% of embryos in which Tc-btd is knocked down displays the loss of antennal, mandibular and the pregnathal regions in the head, with abdominal segments being disrupted in the trunk. Our findings suggest that Tc-btd is required for the head and trunk development in the early Tribolium embryo.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2964-2985
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• 2019

Global data center IP traffic is expected to reach 20.6 zettabytes (ZB) by the end of 2021. Intra-data center networks (Intra-DCN) will account for 71.5% of the data center traffic flow and will be the largest portion of the traffic. The understanding of traffic distribution in IntraDCN is still sketchy. It causes significant amount of bandwidth to go unutilized, and creates avoidable choke points. Conventional transport protocols such as Optical Packet Switching (OPS) and Optical Burst Switching (OBS) allow a one-sided view of the traffic flow in the network. This therefore causes disjointed and uncoordinated decision-making at each node. For effective resource planning, there is the need to consider joining the distributed with centralized management which anticipates the system's needs and regulates the entire network. Methods derived from Kalman filters have proved effective in planning road networks. Considering the network available bandwidth as data transport highways, we propose an intelligent enhanced SDN concept applied to OBS architecture. A management plane (MP) is added to conventional control (CP) and data planes (DP). The MP assembles the traffic spatio-temporal parameters from ingress nodes, uses Kalman filtering prediction-based algorithm to estimate traffic demand. Prior to packets arrival at edges nodes, it regularly forwards updates of resources allocation to CPs. Simulations were done on a hybrid scheme (1+1) and on the centralized OBS. The results demonstrated that the proposition decreases the packet loss ratio. It also improves network latency and throughput-up to 84 and 51%, respectively, versus the traditional scheme.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.504-510
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• 2019

Practical test items were analyzed to extend the existing scoring method for boat operator licenses to an electronic scoring method. We have attempted to digitize the method within the current practical test system scope and have developed an electronic scoring system using LiDAR sensors and WAVE communication. The results of the study are as follows; the first, the scoring data entered into the LiDAR and examiner score device on the boat were transferred from an integrated processing unit to a land control center through WAVE communication. The system was constructed and verified to store and manage examinee data. Second, when testing the meandering task, accurate distance measurement was achieved by using LiDAR instead of visually observing the stick (3 m), and an accurate distance was displayed through the examiner score device quickly. Finally, we confirmed that it is possible to smoothly transmit and process the WAVE communication used to transfer the score data acquired from the boat to the monitoring center at a high speed without loss.