• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.573-578
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• 2001

Objective: This study was carried out to investigate the correlation between prognosis and differential temperature of Digital infrared Thermographic Imaging in Bell's palsy. Methods: The clinical data and thermographic images were analyzed on 50 cases of Bell's palsy who were treated ambulatory in Dong-so oriental hospital from October 2000 to May 2001 And 32case were selected who underwent thermographic imaging within 7days of onset. Results: There was no statistic significance between ${\Delta}T$ and the length of treatment, but the length of treatment tends to grow as ${\Delta}T$ increased. The length of treatment was shortest in normal thermal pattern, followed by hyperthermal and hypothermal. Conclusions: According to the results, there was a tendency that ${\Delta}T$ value is proportional to treatment days, although it is not significant statistically.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.211-228
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• 2013

Objectives : This report describes the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of Collaborative Practice between Korean Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine for two dementia patients. Furthermore, through these cases, we suggest a model of collaborative practice between Korean traditional medicine and western medicine for the treatment of dementia. Methods : Two patients suffering from several symptoms related to dementia received collaborative practice between Korean traditional medicine and western medicine. Physicians of deparment which paient first visit interviewed patient and patient's guardians, discussed the symptoms and the status of the patient. Since then, the medical team made a differential diagnosis based on the results of brain imaging, hematology, urine test. and apprehended the status of dementia by the neuropsychological test. Korean traditional physicians examined the physical symptoms and identified the pattern of dementia in Korean traditional medicine. Following this, they decided on the method of acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and herbal treatment. Western physicians decided on the type of medication after consideration of the patient's other medical conditions. Every intervention was decided by both Korean traditional physicians and western physicians after discussion. The medical team provided education on dementia and counseled the guardians. They also wrote the paper for using the long-term care insurance for the aged. Results : Two patients showed no improvement on the neuropsychologic and activity of daily living tests. However, the patients' subjective physical symptoms were improved. The collaborative practice between Korean traditional medicine and western medicine improved the patients' and guardians' satisfaction. Conclusions : Through these cases, we propose a model of collaborative practice between Korean traditional medicine and western medicine for dementia categorized diagnosis-test, treatment, prevention, management. More specifically, we supplement qigong and psychotherapy which was inadequate in these cases.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.717-729
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• 2013

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a non-invasive and low-cost technique that estimates body composition based on the distribution of water and electrolytes in the body by analyzing body's electrical responses to source voltages. In this work, we carried out a systematic literature review on BIA researches in traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM). For comparison, firstly we introduced the concept and principle of BIA, and offered a general overview of research trends in western medical perspectives. We searched through the databases of Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System and DataBase Periodical Information Academic for the articles published between 1994 and 2013, with keywords such as 'BIA', 'bioelectrical impedance' and 'impedance'. Among the rough-searched 274 articles, we finally selected 21 articles appropriate to the intended research field. The selected articles were categorized into diagnosis in Sasang medicine, impedance analysis in meridian system, and change of body composition after taking herbal medicine. We found that most of BIA researches in TEAM were preliminary and remained in the peripheral levels which is far behind the western medical research activities. Therefore, more efforts are needed to study BIA in association with major subjects such as pattern identification or physiological/pathological phenomena. In addition, methodological breakthrough of BIA is possible by applying the diagnostic concepts of the TEAM in relation to the balance of Qi and Blood.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10433-10438
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• 2015

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among those younger than 15 years of age. Aim and Objectives: This study investigated substitutions in the ATP synthase subunit 6 gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a potential diagnostic biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Based on mtDNA from 23 subjects diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, approximately 465 bp of the ATP synthase subunit 6 gene were amplified and sequenced. Results: The sequencing revealed thirty-one mutations at 14 locations in ATP synthase subunit 6 of mtDNA in the ALL subjects. All were identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with a homoplasmic pattern. The mutations were distributed between males and females. Novel haplotypes were identified in this investigation: haplotype (G) was recorded in 34% in diagnosed subjects; the second haplotype was (C) with frequency of 13% in ALL subjects. Neither of these were observed in control samples. Conclusions: These haplotypes were identified for the first time in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients. Five mutations able to change amino acid synthesis for the ATP synthase subunit 6 were associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This investigation could be used to provide an overview of incidence frequency of acute lyphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Saudi patients based on molecular events.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9283-9289
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• 2014

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and represents approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among those younger than 15 years of age. Materials and Methods: This study investigated alterations in the displacement loop (d-loop) region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a risk factor and diagnostic biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Using mtDNA from 23 subjects diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the first 450 bp of the d-loop region were amplified and successfully sequenced. Results: This revealed 132 mutations at 25 positions in this region, with a mean of 6 alterations per subject. The d-loop alterations in mtDNA in subjects were all identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms in a homoplasmic distribution pattern. Mutant alleles were observed in all subjects with individual frequency rates of up to 95%. Thirteen mutant alleles in the d-loop region of mtDNA occurred with a high frequency. Novel alleles and locations were also identified in the d-loop of mtDNA as follows: 89 G insertions (40%), 95 G insertions (13%), 182 C/T substitutions (5%), 308 C insertions (19%), and 311 C insertions (80%). The findings of this study need to be replicated to be confirmed. Conclusions: Further investigation of the relationship between mutations in mitochondrial d-loop genes and incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.595-598
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• 2013

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide Therefore, identification of genetic as well as environmental factors is very important in developing novel methods of lung cancer prevention. However, this is a multi-layered problem. Therefore a lung cancer risk prediction system is here proposed which is easy, cost effective and time saving. Materials and Methods: Initially 400 cancer and non-cancer patients' data were collected from different diagnostic centres, pre-processed and clustered using a K-means clustering algorithm for identifying relevant and non-relevant data. Next significant frequent patterns are discovered using AprioriTid and a decision tree algorithm. Results: Finally using the significant pattern prediction tools for a lung cancer prediction system were developed. This lung cancer risk prediction system should prove helpful in detection of a person's predisposition for lung cancer. Conclusions: Most of people of Bangladesh do not even know they have lung cancer and the majority of cases are diagnosed at late stages when cure is impossible. Therefore early prediction of lung cancer should play a pivotal role in the diagnosis process and for an effective preventive strategy.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.95-100
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• 1999

It is generally difficult, time-consuming, and expensive for the clinical laboratory to detect vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE). The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay system as a diagnostic tool for the rapid detection of VRE from clinical samples and/or for the identification of VRE from the bacterial strains isolated from clinical specimens. Specific primers, designed from the nucleotide sequences respectively encoding the vanA, vanB, vanC-1, vanC-2/3 genes in enterococci, were coupled in a multiplex PCR assay system. With this multiplex PCR assay system, we investigated the incidence rates and types of VRE isolated from clinical samples. A total of 75 strains of enterococci were isolated in 3 general hospitals in Korea. Of these isolates, 36 strains showed a pattern of high-level vancomycin resistance which associated with vanA gene, whereas 18 strains showed low-level vancomycin resistance associated with vanC-1 or vanC-2/3 gene. Thus, multiplex PCR assay method established in this study could be applied for the rapid detection of VRE.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.223-240
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• 2015

This paper deals with how to design and develop white-box based e-learning contents which are equipped with conceptual understanding and step-by-step computational procedures for studying vector calculus for science-engineering majors who might need supplementary mathematics learning. Noting that rewriting rules are often used in school mathematics for students' problem solving, the theoretical aspects of rewriting rules are reviewed for developing supplementary e-learning contents for them. The software design of step-by-step problem solving requires careful arrangement of rewriting rules and pattern matching techniques for white-box procedures using a computer algebra system such as Mathematica. Several modules for step-by-step problem solving as well as producing dynamic display of e-learning contents was coded by Mathematica in order to find the length of a curve in vector calculus after implementing several rules for differentiation and integration. The developed contents are equipped with diagnostic modules and immediate feedback for supplementary learning in terms of a tutorial. At the end, this paper indicates the strengths and features of the developed contents for college students who need to increase math learning capabilities, and suggests future research directions.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1529-1535
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• 2011

Improvement of the thermal efficiency in operation and maintenance of low- and medium-speed engines is a kind of never-ending requirement in the maritime power plant business. For the purpose of improving engine management efficiency, a principal factor that represents the fitness of the engine should be identified. Gas pressure, gas temperature, and vibration have all been used as this factor. However, they have limitations in terms of response speed and diagnosis accuracy. The EFR (engine fitness ratio) is suggested as a new diagnostic factor in this paper. The EFR is defined as the ratio of particular frequencies in the frequency domain and represents the fitness of an engine. It is calculated from the fluctuation pattern of the crankshaft angular speed. The EFR was verified using an experimental method for a low-speed engine and an analytic method for a medium-speed engine.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2009

Quantum Dot (QD) nanoparticles are used in various industrial applications, such as diagnostic, drug delivery, and imaging agents of biomedicine. Although QDs are extensively used in many medical science, several studies have been demonstrated the potential toxicity of nanoparticles. The first objective of this study was to investigate the nanotoxicity of QDs in the HaCaT human keratinocyte cell line by focusing on gene expression pattern. In order to evaluate the effect of QDs on gene expression profile in HaCaT cells, we analyzed the differential genes which related to oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms by using human cDNA microarray and PCR array. A human cDNA microarray was clone set, which was sorted for a list of genes correlated with cell mechanisms. We tried to confirm results of cDNA microarray by using PCR array, which is pathway-focused gene expression profiling technology using Real-Time PCR. Although we could not find the exactly same genes in both methods, we have screened the effects of QDs on global gene expression profiles in human skin cells. In addition, our results show that QD treatment somehow regulates cellular pathways of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Therefore, we suggest that this study can enlarge our knowledge of the transcriptional profile and identify new candidate biomarker genes to evaluate the toxicity of nanotoxicology.