• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.432-442
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• 2023

Background Macrophages play a major role in wound healing and prevent infection from the outside. Polarization conversion of macrophages regulates aspects of inflammation, and two macrophages, M1 (classically activated) and M2 (alternatively activated), exist at both ends of broad-spectrum macrophage polarization. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether macrophage polarization can be artificially regulated. To this end, MgSO4 and small-interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting magnesium transport 1 (MAGT1) were used to investigate the effects of intracellular magnesium (Mg2+) concentrations on the differentiation of macrophages in vitro. Methods THP-1 derived macrophages maintained in a culture medium containing 5 mM MgSO4 and siRNA to inhibit the expression of MAGT1. As comparative groups, THP-1 derived macrophages polarized into M1 and M2 macrophages by treatment with M1, M2 inducer cytokine. The polarization status of each group of cells was confirmed by cell surface antigen expression and cytokine secretion. Results We found that MgSO4 treatment increased CD163 and CD206, similar to the effect noted in the M2 group. The expression of CD80 and HLA-DR was increased in the group treated with MAGT1 siRNA, similar to the effect noted in the M1 group. Functional assays demonstrated that the group treated with MgSO4 secreted higher levels of IL-10, whereas the MAGT1 siRNA-treated group secreted higher levels of IL-6 cytokines. Additionally, the conditional medium of the Mg2+ treated group showed enhanced migration of keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Conclusion Mg2+ can help to end the delay in wound healing caused by persistent inflammation in the early stages.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.341-355
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The consumption of dietary supplements has shown an increase among young people in their 20s. We aimed to compare the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students living in South Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted online surveys of 400 Chinese international students and 452 Korean college students from January to February 2021. We analyzed the factors related to the use of dietary supplements by these students using multi-group structural equation modeling and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Approximately 65% of the Chinese international students and 93% of the Korean college students consumed dietary supplements at least once in the year preceding the survey. The common types of dietary supplements consumed by both groups of students were vitamin and mineral supplements, Lactobacillus products, and red ginseng products. Structural equation modeling showed that perception of the consumption of dietary supplements by family and friends positively influenced attitude toward dietary supplements. This effect was higher for Korean college students than for Chinese international students (P < 0.01). Attitude toward dietary supplements positively influenced their use, and this effect was higher for Chinese international students than for Korean college students (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the use of dietary supplements by Chinese international students was significantly associated with age, self-reported health status, interest in health, perception of and attitude toward dietary supplements, and length of residence in South Korea. Among Korean college students, it was associated with exercise frequency and attitude toward dietary supplements. CONCLUSION: This study showed significant differences in the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students. Therefore, nutrition education programs on dietary supplements need to have differentiated content for each group. Such differences also suggest that the industry should consider the relevant characteristics of college students while developing and marketing dietary supplements.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.207-219
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• 2023

Soft rot is a widespread, catastrophic disease caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) that severely damages the production of Amorphophallus spp. This study evaluated the rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities in Pcc-infected and uninfected plants of two species of Amorphophallus, A. muelleri and A. konjac. Principal component analysis showed that the samples formed different clusters according to the Pcc infection status, indicating that Pcc infection can cause a large number of changes in the bacterial and fungal communities in the Amorphophallus spp. rhizosphere soil. However, the response mechanisms of A. muelleri and A. konjac are different. There was little difference in the overall microbial species composition among the four treatments, but the relative abundances of core microbiome members were significantly different. The relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacillus, and Lysobacter were lower in infected A. konjac plants than in healthy plants; in contrast, those of infected A. muelleri plants were higher than those in healthy plants. For fungi, the relative abundances of Ascomycota and Fusarium in the rhizosphere of infected A. konjac plants were significantly higher than those of healthy plants, but those of infected A. muelleri plants were lower than those of healthy plants. The relative abundance of beneficial Penicillium fungi was lower in infected A. konjac plants than in healthy plants, and that of infected A. muelleri plants was higher than that of healthy plants. These findings can provide theoretical references for further functional research and utilization of Amorphophallus spp. rhizosphere microbial communities in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.184-194
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• 2023

Background: Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) is frequently associated with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and conservative treatments such as epidural steroid injection do not have long-term benefits in LSS patients with DLS. This study evaluated the effectiveness of percutaneous epidural neuroplasty using a balloon catheter in patients with LSS and DLS. Methods: Patients' sex, age, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, stenosis grading, pain duration, location, pain intensity, and medications were retrieved from electronic medical records. At 1, 3, and 6 months following the procedure, data on pain severity, medication usage, and physical functional status were analyzed. A generalized estimating equations model was used at the six-month follow-up. Patients were divided into those with DLS (the spondylolisthesis group) and those without DLS (the no spondylolisthesis group) to evaluate whether the effects of percutaneous epidural neuroplasty using a balloon catheter were different. Results: A total of 826 patients were included (spondylolisthesis: 433 patients, 52.4%; no spondylolisthesis: 393 patients, 47.6%). Age, body mass index, hypertension, pain location, and stenosis grading were statistically different between the two groups. The generalized estimating equations analyses with unadjusted and adjusted estimation revealed a significant improvement in the estimated mean numerical rating scale of pain intensities compared to that at baseline in both groups (P < 0.001). Any adverse events that occurred were minor and temporary. Conclusions: Percutaneous epidural neuroplasty using a balloon catheter may be an alternative treatment option for patients with chronic LSS, regardless of accompanying DLS, who have had failed conservative management.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.96-104
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• 2022

This study aimed to examine the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome by reviewing published randomized controlled trials. Among the 186 studies retrieved from 7 online databases (PubMed, Cochrane library, CNKI, NDSL, RISS, OASIS, KMbase) on October 29, 2021, 4 studies were selected according to the inclusion, exclusion criteria, and were evaluated using risk of bias. Control groups for electroacupuncture were wearing a splint at night, traditional acupuncture, and medication. Methods such as total effective, functional status scale, symptom severity scale, electromyography, tip pinch strength, visual analogue scale, numeric rating scale, and ultrasound were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Electroacupuncture was reported to have significant treatment results compared with the control group in methods such as total effectiveness, electromyography, and tip pinch strength. However, the quality of the studies (using risk of bias) does not allow reliable conclusions to be made. Many high quality (low risk of bias) randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the efficacy of electroacupuncture treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.330-345
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• 2023

This study aimed to categorize consumers using super app functional characteristics to identify demographic differences, and analyze shopping orientations by consumer type. This data can be used by fashion and beauty companies for product planning and marketing strategies. To categorize super app consumers, data were analyzed with SPSS v.26.0 software using frequency, factor, reliability K-mean cluster, and distributed analyses, one-way-ANOVAs, and Scheffe verification. Cross-analysis was conducted to correlate super app consumer types with demographic characteristics. One-way-ANOVAs and Scheffe verification were used to analyze the differences in shopping preferences between super app consumer groups. As a result of our analyses, super app consumers were classified into four types: the ration type, the low-use type, the multifunction type, and the habit type. There were statistically significant differences between these types in age, occupation, marital status, average monthly household income, and shopping impact factors. Five super app user shopping orientations were identified: brand pursuit, pleasure pursuit, trend pursuit, risk perception, and economic orientation. The differences in the preferred orientation between super app consumer types were found to be statistically significant. The majority of respondents were multifunction type consumers. This group used the super app most frequently and effectively. They also demonstrated the highest scores for all five of the shopping orientations. The classification of consumer types in this study will allow the fashion and beauty industries to utilize super apps for more targeted product design and marketing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.28-28
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• 2022

This paper presents the first genome assemblies of Philippine mangoes that provide valuable reference for varietal improvement and genomic studies on mango and related fruit crops. WE sequenced whole genomes of3 species, Mangifera odorata (Huani), Mangifera altissima (Paho), and Mangifera indica 'Carabao' (Sweet Elena). 'Carabao' is the major export variety of the Philippines; Paho is identified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; Huani has fruit sap acrid which is the primary defense mechanism against insects and birds. We used Falcon, a diploid aware -de novo assembler to assemble SMRT generated long-read sequences. Falcon-unzip was employed to phase the output assembly producing larger contig sets (primary contigs) and shorter contigs corresponding to haplotypes (haplotigs). Assembly statistics were generated by comparing the assembly to a reference genome, Tommy Atkins, using Quality Assessment Tool (QUAST). Moreover, the extent of duplication and completeness of gene content was measured using Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO). Draft assemblies with high duplications were processed using Purge Haplotigs and Purge Dups to lessen duplications with minimal impact on genome completeness. De novo assemblies of Huani, Paho and 'Carabao' were then generated with primary contig sizes of 463.64 Mb, 508.95 Mb and 401.51 Mb respectively. These draft assemblies of Huani, Paho and 'Carabao' showed 96.90%, 95.17% and 99.07% complete BUSCOs respectively which is comparable to 'Tommy Atkins' genome (98.6%). Using two mango transcriptome data (pooled RNA-seq from different mango varieties and tissues), 91-96% or 24-30 million reads were successfully mapped back for each generated assembly indicating high degree of completeness. The results obtained demonstrated the highly contiguous, phased, and near complete genome assembly of three Philippine mango species for structural and functional annotation of gene units, especially those with economic importance.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.87-102
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• 2023

Existing child car seats do not have a monitoring means for the driver or guardian to effectively recognize the status of whether the seat belt of car seat is fastened and whether the ISOFIX of the car seat is fastened to the inside device of the vehicle. In this paper, we propose a smart car seat system which can monitor in real time, whether the seat belt of a child seated in the car seat is fastened and whether the ISOFIX of the car seat is fastened. The proposed system has been developed with a prototype, in which a Hall sensor, magnet, Bluetooth, and display device are used to detect whether these are fastened and to display the detection results. The prototype system provides the detection results as texts and alarm signal to the display for driver or guardian' smartphone in the car in motion. With functional tests of the prototype system, it was confirmed that the detection functions are properly operated, and the detection results were transmitted to the display device and smartphone via Bluetooth within 0.5 seconds. It is expected that the development system can effectively prevent safety accidents of child car seats.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.252-263
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• 2023

Purpose: To assess the feasibility, safety, and preliminary estimates of effectiveness of Tai Chi on the functional outcomes of older adults in the community. Methods: This was a mixed-method study that employed a single-group repeated measure design and in-depth interviews. Nine older adults were recruited from the community were recruited to participate in a Tai Chi program, conducted twice weekly for 6 months. Research outcomes included physical function, cognitive function, and quality of life, measured at intervals of 3 and 6 months. Findings: Tai Chi exercises were gradually conducted based on the health status of the older adults. All participants actively participated in the program with an average attendance of 90%. Consequently, the participants showed significant improvements in mobility and their memory recall ability at both 3 and 6 months. Additionally, the results of the Stroop test exhibited improvement 3 months after the commencement of the study program. Quality of life of the participants improved according to the mild cognitive impairment questionnaire, but it did not show significant improvement in health-related quality of life. Conclusion: The Tai Chi exercise program was a safe and, feasible program to improve the physical function, cognitive function, quality of life among the older adults in the community.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.29-43
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• 2023

Background: In the rehabilitation of stroke patients, regular physical activity is very important not only as a treatment for maximal functional recovery but also as a strategy to prevent the recurrence of stroke. The purpose of this study was to objectively measure the amount of physical activity in people with stroke, and to examine the differences in motor and cognitive function according to a level of physical activity. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: Physical activity (GENEActiv), motor function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment), cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Korean version), and the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index were evaluated in adult stroke patients with hemiplegia. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the level of physical activity according to the motor and cognitive function. There was no statistically significant difference in motor and cognitive function according to the level of physical activity, but there was a statistically significant difference in the MBI (p<.01). Conclusion: As a result of the difference in the MBI according to the level of physical activity, it was found that the more moderate to vigorous physical activities are performed, the higher the independence in daily living. These results can be interpreted as that the more often you participate in physical activities such as physical therapy (gait training), the better your independence in ADL. Since regular physical activity participation of adult stroke patients can improve daily living performance, it is considered necessary to participate in physical activities such as continuous physical therapy.