• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.156-160
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• 2016

Background: Workers in pesticide manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic biomonitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this biomonitoring study were to assess DNA damage through comet assay in blood samples collected from industry workers and compare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for complete blood count analysis. Methods: Samples from controls (n = 20) and exposed workers (n = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography. Results: The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13-25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length ($7.04{\mu}m$) than the controls ($0.94{\mu}m$). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01-0.31 mg/L). Conclusion: We found a strong correlation ($R^2=0.91$) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2007

We investigated the effects of solution pH on swelling characteristics and relevant hydraulic conductivity of different particle sizes of Na-bentonite which have significantly high swelling capacity. The results showed that the time taken to reach the maximum swelling indexes for all pH levels ranged from 84 hours and 156 hours for pH 6.5 or above by NaOH and pH 3.5 by HCl, respectively. The maximum swelling index slightly increased with increasing particle size, while the maximum swelling indexes were less or approximately half of that of the indigenous Na-bentonite. The changes in swelling indexes before and after solution treatment were distinctive in acidic condition, especially in pH 3.5 by HCl while there were not much differences in alkali condition. For hydraulic conductivities of fully swelled Na-bentonite in a given solution pH, elution did not occur under pressure below 1 bar. But elution started as the pressure was raised to 1.5 bars or above after 500 seconds. The stabilized hydraulic conductivities observed from 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0 bars ranged from $7{\times}10^{-3}cm\;day^{-1}$ to $6{\times}10^{-3}cm\;day^{-1}$, indicating that the hydraulic conductivities were slightly higher in acidic condition than that of normal condition.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.1126-1141
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• 2021

Recent evidence has shown that methionine (Met) supplementation can improve milk protein synthesis under hyperthermia (which reduces milk production). To explore the mechanism by which milk protein synthesis is affected by Met supplementation under hyperthermia, mammary alveolar (MAC-T) cells were incubated at a hyperthermic temperature of 42℃ for 6 h in media with different concentrations of Met. While the control group (CON) contained a normal amino acid concentration profile (60 ㎍/mL of Met), the three treatment groups were supplemented with Met at concentrations of 10 ㎍/mL (MET70, 70 ㎍/mL of Met), 20 ㎍/mL (MET80, 80 ㎍/mL of Met), and 30 ㎍/mL (MET90,90 ㎍/mL of Met). Our results show that additional Met supplementation increases the mRNA and protein levels of BCL2 (B-cell lymphoma-2, an anti-apoptosis agent), and decreases the mRNA and protein levels of BAX (Bcl-2-associated X protein, a pro-apoptosis agent), especially at an additional supplementary concentration of 20 ㎍/mL (group Met80). Supplementation with higher concentrations of Met decreased the mRNA levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9, and increased protein levels of heat shock protein (HSP70). The total protein levels of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the mTOR signalling pathway-related proteins, AKT, ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1 (RPS6KB1), and ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6), increased with increasing Met supplementation, and peaked at 80 ㎍/mL Met (group Met80). In addition, we also found that additional Met supplementation upregulated the gene expression of αS1-casein (CSN1S1), β-casein (CSN2), and the amino acid transporter genes SLC38A2, SLC38A3 which are known to be mTOR targets. Additional Met supplementation, however, had no effect on the gene expression of κ-casein (CSN3) and solute carrier family 34 member 2 (SLC34A2). Our results suggest that additional Met supplementation with 20 ㎍/mL may promote the synthesis of milk proteins in bovine mammary epithelial cells under hyperthermia by inhibiting apoptosis, activating the AKT-mTOR-RPS6KB1 signalling pathway, and regulating the entry of amino acids into these cells.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.125-133
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between end of life care competencies and terminal care stress of nurses in long term care hospitals. Methods: For this study, 140 nurses were sampled among those that have over 6-month end of life care experience and were working at long term care hospitals located in A city and C city of Chungcheongnam-do. Using a questionnaire, data were collected from January 2018 through March 2018. Data were analyzed using the SPSS, Windows version 21.0, according to the purpose of the study and analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, one way ANOVA, $Sch\acute{e}ffe^{\prime}s$ test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The mean score on terminal care stress of nurses was above the normal level. The scores on end of life care competencies significantly varied by age, total career at hospitals, death/hospice and palliative care education, and bereavement experience. The mean score of end of life care competencies was negatively correlated with the mean score of lack of knowledge and skills among the subitems of the terminal care stress category (r=-0.260, P=0.002). Conclusion: To decrease the terminal care stress of long term care hospital nurses, it is suggested to carry out end of life care education tailored to nurses characteristics.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.20-28
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• 2019

This study comparatively analyzes general walking shoes on the conical top foundation of the ground condition and the pressure distribution during walking with shoes that are currently under development. Two categories of footwear were used: general footwear and a footwear conical top foundation that is currently under development. Experiments were carried out on hard ground and sandy soil in 15 male twenties that satisfy the conditions of normal foot wearing 260 mm. The pressure during walking was measured using Techstorm's Wireless Insole System, and foot pressure was measured in 7 zones of the foot. Studies have shown different maximum forces, average pressures, and pressure distributions depending on the shoe and ground conditions. This study shows that shoes with general low pressure dispersion effects depending on the feet in hard ground and sand ground are different from shoes with the conical top foundation that is currently under development. It is expected that it will be useful for the development of shoes that can be worn in all hard ground and sandy ground by selecting various rubber materials through further research.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 2019

Inflammatory and oxidative stimuli play a critical role not only in the process of transforming normal cells into cancer cells, but also in the proliferation process of cancer cells. Sipyukmiryukieum (SYMRKU), a traditional Korean herb-combined remedy, is composed of 16 kinds of herbal medicines, which were recorded for "Ongjeo" treatment in "Dongeuibogam". In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of SYMRKU against inflammatory and oxidative responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Our results showed that SYMRKU significantly inhibited LPS-induced secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators including nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ without showing any significant cytotoxicity. Consistent with these results, SYMRKU down-regulated LPS-induced expression of their regulatory enzymes such as inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. SYMRKU also inhibited LPS-induced production and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6. In addition, SYMRKU significantly reduced the production of reactive oxygen species by LPS and showed a strong, which was associated with induction of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1 expression. Although further studies are needed to fully understand the anti-inflammatory effects associated with the antioxidant capacity of SYMRKU, the findings of the current study suggest that SYMRKU may have potential benefits by inhibiting the onset and/or treatment of inflammatory and/or oxidative diseases.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2021

Subsurface rock produces heat from the decay of radioactive isotopes in constituent minerals and gamma-ray emissions, of which the magnitude is dominated by the contents of the major radioactive isotopes (e.g., U, Th, and K). The heat production is generally calculated from the rock density and contents of major isotopes, which can be determined by mass spectrometry of drilled core samples or rock fragments. However, such methods are not easily applicable to deep boreholes because core samples recovered from depths of several hundred meters to a few kilometers are rarely available. A geophysical logging technique for boreholes is available where the U, Th, and K contents are measured from the gamma-ray spectrum. However, this technique requires the density to be measured separately, and the measurement depth of the equipment is still limited. As an alternative method, a normal gamma-ray logging tool was adopted to estimate the heat production from the total gamma activity, which is relatively easy to measure. This technical report introduces the development of the proposed method for evaluating the heat production of a granitic rock mass with domestic commercial borehole logging tools, as well as its application to a ~2 km deep borehole for verification.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.76-86
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• 2022

Personal hearing devices, such as hearing aids, may be fine-tuned by allowing the users to conduct self-adjustment. Two self-adjustment procedures were developed to collect the listener preferred gains in six octave-frequency bands from 0.25 kHz to 8 kHz. These procedures were designed to allow rapid exploration of a multi-dimensional parameter space using a simple, one-dimensional user control interface (i.e., a programmable knob). The two procedures differ in whether the user interface controls the gains in all frequency bands simultaneously (Procedure A) or only the gain in one frequency band (Procedure B) on a given trial. Monte-Carlo simulations suggested that for both procedures the gain preference identified by simulated listeners rapidly converged to the ground-truth preferred gain profile over the first 20 trials. Initial behavioral evaluations of the self-adjustment procedures, in terms of test-retest reliability, were conducted using 20 young, normal-hearing listeners. Each estimate of the preferred gain profile took less than 20 minutes. The deviation between two separate estimates of the preferred gain profile, conducted at least a week apart, was about 10 dB ~ 15 dB.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2022

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an inflammatory bone disorder presenting with sterile osteomyelitis, most often presenting in childhood. Although the etiology is understood incompletely, its association with other auto-inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); psoriasis; Wegener's disease; arthritis; and synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome suggests that dysregulated innate immunity may play an important role in the pathogenesis. We report a case of a 13-year-old boy with CRMO associated with Crohn's disease (CD) successfully treated with infliximab after failure of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) treatment. He initially was diagnosed with CRMO based on symmetric and aseptic bone lesions with no fever, lack of response to antibiotic treatment, vertebral involvement, and normal blood cell counts. Despite five months of NSAID treatment, his musculoskeletal symptoms were aggravated, and he developed gastrointestinal symptoms. Finally, he was diagnosed with CRMO associated with CD. Due to the severity of symptoms, infliximab was initiated and produced symptom improvement. This case supports infliximab as another choice for treatment of bowel symptoms in addition to the bone and joint symptoms of CRMO when other first-line treatments are ineffective.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.718-728
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• 2022

Splicing factor B subunit 4 (SF3B4), a component of the U2-pre-mRNA spliceosomal complex, contributes to tumorigenesis in several types of tumors. However, the oncogenic potential of SF3B4 in lung cancer has not yet been determined. The in vivo expression profiles of SF3B4 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from publicly available data revealed a significant increase in SF3B4 expression in tumor tissues compared to that in normal tissues. The impact of SF3B4 deletion on the growth of NSCLC cells was determined using a siRNA strategy in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. SF3B4 silencing resulted in marked retardation of the A549 cell proliferation, accompanied by the accumulation of cells at the G0/G1 phase and increased expression of p27, p21, and p53. Double knockdown of SF3B4 and p53 resulted in the restoration of p21 expression and partial recovery of cell proliferation, indicating that the p53/p21 axis is involved, at least in part, in the SF3B4-mediated regulation of A549 cell proliferation. We also provided ubiquitination factor E4B (UBE4B) is essential for p53 accumulation after SF3B4 depletion based on followings. First, co-immunoprecipitation showed that SF3B4 interacts with UBE4B. Furthermore, UBE4B levels were decreased by SF3B4 depletion. UBE4B depletion, in turn, reproduced the outcome of SF3B4 depletion, including reduction of polyubiquitinated p53 levels, subsequent induction of p53/p21 and p27, and proliferation retardation. Collectively, our findings indicate the important role of SF3B4 in the regulation of A549 cell proliferation through the UBE4B/p53/p21 axis and p27, implicating the therapeutic strategies for NSCLC targeting SF3B4 and UBE4B.