• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.15-21
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• 2024

A hiking stick is generally one of the walking aids that allow hikers to walk while relying on their own bodies when walking. A rechargeable battery must be built into the hiking stick, which is an auxiliary device, in order to perform various functions. A separate power supply is required to charge the rechargeable battery. This study is about a self-generated power supply and develops a power generation device using a screw with higher power generation efficiency than the existing method. It is differentiated from the method suggested in this study by comparing and analyzing it with the existing power generation method, and identifying problems therewith. The screw-type power generation device generates power when the climbing stick comes into contact with the ground and when it is separated from the ground. The built-in power generation device does not require a separate power supply, and it can be used by attaching the role of a mobile phone auxiliary battery and a lighting lamp, and it has the effect of being able to find it through location tracking by embedding a GPS sensor, etc., and using lighting to keep the user safe in emergency situations such as distress. The existing generator with built-in mountain climbing stick is difficult to charge due to very weak current and low practicality, but the generator developed in this research could achieve high efficiency to obtain a sufficient current, so it is possible to charge a battery and practicality.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.313-322
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• 2024

Plasmodium vivax variant interspersed repeats (vir) refer to the key protein used for escaping the host immune system. Knowledge in the genetic variation of vir genes can be used for the development of vaccines or diagnostic methods. Therefore, we evaluated the genetic diversity of the vir genes of P. vivax populations of several Asian countries, including Pakistan, which is a malaria-endemic country experiencing a significant rise in malaria cases in recent years. We analyzed the genetic diversity and population structure of 4 vir genes (vir 4, vir 12, vir 21, and vir 27) in the Pakistan P. vivax population and compared these features to those of the corresponding vir genes in other Asian countries. In Pakistan, vir 4 (S=198, H=9, Hd=0.889, Tajima's D value=1.12321) was the most genetically heterogenous, while the features of vir 21 (S=8, H=7, Hd=0.664, Tajima's D value =-0.63763) and vir 27 (S =25, H =11, Hd =0.682, Tajima's D value=-2.10836) were relatively conserved. Additionally, vir 4 was the most genetically diverse among Asian P. vivax populations, although within population diversity was low. Meanwhile, vir 21 and vir 27 among all Asian populations were closely related genetically. Our findings on the genetic diversity of vir genes and its relationships between populations in diverse geographical locations contribute toward a better understanding of the genetic characteristics of vir. The high level of genetic diversity of vir 4 suggests that this gene can be a useful genetic marker for understanding the P. vivax population structure. Longitudinal genetic diversity studies of vir genes in P. vivax isolates obtained from more diverse geographical areas are needed to better understand the function of vir genes and their use for the development of malaria control measures, such as vaccines.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2013

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the polysomnographic characteristics and prescription status of restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients in naturalistic setting. Methods: We reviewed medical record of the patients over 18 years olds who (i) satisfied the clinical RLS diagnostic criteria and (ii) had the polysomnography and got treatment related thereto. As a baseline, we evaluated the four diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) and the International Restless Legs Scale (IRLS) of the subjects. Then the polysomnography and the suggested immobilization test (SIT) were conducted and, after one month of pharmacotherapy using dopamine agonist, the IRLS was evaluated again. Results: A total of 211 subjects participated in this analysis and 94 (44.5%) of them were male and the other 117 (55.5%) were female and the average age of the 211 subjects was $46.9{\pm}14.2$. Out of such 211 subjects, 136 subjects (64.5%) also had the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and 53 subjects (25.1%) also had the periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). 185 subjects (87.7%) out of the 211 subjects had some other sleep disorders except RLS. The results of the polysomnography were as follows : 78.0% of sleep efficiency, 86.8 min of wake after sleep onset, and 3.4% of N3. More specifically, 12.4/h of the average apnea hypopnea index, 14.8/h of the periodic limb movement during sleep (PLMS), 41.2/h of the periodic limb movement during wake during SIT and 21.6/h of total arousal index during sleep. Out of the total subjects, 149 (70.6%) of them took the ropinirole and 47 (22.3%) of them took the pramipexole, and the average dosage of ropinirole was 0.9mg(dosage range 0.125-5 mg) while the average dosage of pramipexole was 0.5 mg (dosage range 0.125-4 mg). The dosage of the ropinirole showed a significant positive correlation with the age (r=0.25, p=0.002) and also with the IRLS (r=0.23, p=0.038). The IRLS at the baseline was 24.9 while the same was decreased down to 13.4 after one month. Conclusions: Analyzing the result of this study, a majority of clinical RLS subjects demonstrated comorbidity with some other sleep disorder such as the OSA or PLMD. 25.1% of the subjects showed a PLMD, which was less than in previous researches and the average PLMS was not very high as 14.8/h. The dosage of dopamine agonist taken was often a bit more than the amount recommended in Korea. A prospective research using a large scale controlled subjects will be necessary with respect to this topic.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.168-178
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• 2010

Objective : The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobical effect of horseradish root extracts against Enterococcus faecalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from oral cavity compared with reference strain, and compared with that of chlorhexidine. Method : Horseradish root extracts and chlorhexidine were sequentially diluted and tested against anaerobes(E. faecalis, F. nucleatum) isolated from children's oral cavity. The microbes were anaerobically incubated and the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration(MBC) were detected. Results :1. Horseradish root extracts showed antimicrobial effect against E. faecalis isolated strain at same or slightly higher concentration compared with MIC of reference strain. 2. $625.0\sim1,250.0{\mu}g/ml$ horseradish root extracts showed similar antimicrobial effect with chlorhexidine($7.8\sim15.6{\mu}g/ml$). 3. Horseradish root extracts showed antimicrobial effect against F. nucleatum isolated strain at same or slightly higher concentration compared with MIC of reference strain. 4. $78.1\sim312.5{\mu}g/ml$ horseradish root extracts showed similar antimicrobial effect with chlorhexidine($7.8\sim15.6{\mu}g/ml$). Conclusions : The results of this study confirm that horseradish root extracts has antimicrobial effect against anaerobes isolated from oral cavity as well as reference strain. And we found the potential of horseradish root extracts as a canal irrigant or disinfectant.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.519-526
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• 1999

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of a technetium-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine (Tc-99m MAG3) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) performed on transplanted kidney. Materials and Methods: Thirty renal transplant patients were included in this study. Planar scan was performed for 30 minutes using 555 MBq Tc-99m MAG3. A post-voiding SPECT scan was acquired on the third, seventh, fourteenth and twenty eighth day after transplantation. Results: SPECT scan showed interpretable image quality in 26 of 30 patients (86.7%) and 84 in 120 scans (70%). Fourteen of 26 patients with interpretable SPECT image showed decreased or increased radioactivity, but only 5 had abnormal findings on the planar scan. Focal SPECT defects were seen in allografts with normal function (n=3), acute tubular necrosis (n=3), and acute rejection (n=2). The defects are thought to reflect focally underperfused renal parenchyme or, in normal allografts, an artifact from uneven radioactivity distribution. Four of 10 patients with renal arterial variation showed focally decreased radioactivity and SPECT helped guide funker studies that confirmed the exact cause. Five of 10 patients with acute tubular necrosis or acute rejection showed focally decreased radioactivity, but its relation to the patients' clinical course was not clear. Focally increased radioactivity was observed in 5 allografts with normal function and 1 with double ureter in which local clearance delay was observed. Conclusion: Tc-99m MAG3 SPECT renal scan can detect additional focal abnormalities compared to planar scan. Further study is necessary to elucidate the exact clinical significance of the SPECT findings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.394-401
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• 2005

A nonthermal plasma-assisted fuel reformer was developed and the effects of operating variables on the performance of this reformer were studied. The $H_2$-rich reformed gas from the reformer was injected into a diesel engine under an idle condition and the effects of the amount of injected gas on the NO and soot reduction were investigated. It was found that with increasing electric power consumption, the degree of facility of ignition of the reforming reaction in the reformer could be enhanced. The performance of the reformer including $H_2$ concentration, $H_2$ recovery, and energy conversion was affected only by the O/C mole ratio. This was because the equilibrium reaction temperature was governed by the O/C mole ratio. With increasing O/C mole ratio, the $H_2$ recovery and energy conversion passed through the maximum values of 33.4% and 66%, respectively, at an O/C mole ratio between 1.2 and 1.5. The reason why the $H_2$ recovery and energy conversion increased with increasing O/C mole ratio when the O/C mole ratio was lower than $1.2{\sim}1.5$ appeared to be that the complete oxidation reaction occurred more enough with increasing O/C mole ratio in this low O/C mole ratio range and accordingly the reaction temperature increased. Whereas the reason why the $H_2$ recovery and energy conversion decreased with increasing O/C mole ratio when the O/C mole ratio was higher than $1.2{\sim}1.5$ appeared to be that the complete oxidation reaction was further advanced and the $H_2$ recovery and energy conversion decreased. As the weight ratio of reformed diesel to total diesel which entered the diesel engine was increased to $18.2{\sim}23.5%$, NO and soot reduction efficiencies increased and reached as values high as 68.5% and 23.5%, respectively.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.323-329
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• 2012

Genome-wide association study was performed on data from 266 Hanwoo steers derived from 66 sires using bovine 10K mapping chip in Hanwoo (Korean cattle). SNPs were excluded from the analysis if they failed in over 5% of the genotypes, had median GC scores below 0.6, had GC scores under 0.6 in less than 90% of the samples, deviated in heterozygosity more than 3 standard deviations from the other SNPs and were out of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for a cut-off p-value of $1^{-15}$. Unmapped and SNPs on sex chromosomes were also excluded. A total of 4,522 SNPs were included in the analysis. To test an association between SNP and QTL, a single marker regression analysis was implemented in this study. SNP was assumed to be in LD with QTL in close proximity and the effect evaluated was additive effect (QTL allele substitution effect). The number of significant SNP at a threshold of P<0.001 was 3, 5, 5 and 4 loci for live weight at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, respectively. For live weight at different ages, significant SNP were spread out across chromosome but some of significant SNP (rs29012453 and rs29012456 on BTA24) had shown highly significant effects. As for the distribution of size of SNP effects, few loci for live weight at different age had moderate effects (6~11%) but most of significant loci had small effects (2 to 5% of additive genetic variance) against total additive genetic variance. In conclusion, live weight at different age might be affected by few loci with moderate effect and many loci with small effects across genome in Hanwoo.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.554-560
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• 2003

Purpose : To investigate the teratogenic effect of gamma-ray on the heart of chick embryo. Methods : 50 rad, 100 rad, 150 rad, 200 rad, 250 rad, and 300 rad of gamma-ray were used to irradiate three days old chick embryos. The control group was not irradiated. After three weeks, the embryos were sacrificed and examined for cardiovascular malformation. Results : The survival rate of the gamma-ray irradiated group was significantly lower than that of the control group(33.3-63.3% vs 76.4%, P=0.001). The cardiac malformation rate of the experimental group was 11.0%. In the control group, no congenital cardiac malformations were observed. The experimental groups had a significantly higher malformation rate(P=0.001). The types of malformation were ventricular septal defect, tricuspid atresia, Ebstein anomaly and aortic arch anomaly. In the gamma-ray irradiated group, the cardiac malformations were : 14 small ventricular septal defects (VSDs), five large VSDs, two tricuspid atresias, and one Ebstein anomaly. The higher the dose of radiation applied, the higher the incidence of cardiac malformation was noted. Conclusion : Gamma-ray irradiation of 3 days old chick embryos increased the rate of death and the rate of cardiac malformation significantly.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.889-898
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• 1996

This study estimated the re!ation between psychological stress and stress hormones, nu­t tritional status of patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM). Psycho­l logical stress such as depr'ession and anxiety in 34 diabetics was analyzedin relation to nutrient intake, blood components such as fasting blood sugar(FBS), hemoglobin AIC, stress hormones a and amino acids. The IeveIs of depression and anxiety were measured by The center for ep­i idemiological studies-depc$pm$111.49pg/ml for total catecholamine ( (norepmephrine and epinephrine) and 233.95 $pm$73.99pg/ml for norepinephrine, 94.03$pm$75. 9 97pg/ml for epinephrine, 13.lS$pm$5.55pl/dl for cortisol and 171.50$pm$62.50pg/ml for gul c cagon respectlveIy. The leveIs of stress hormones in diabetics such as total catecholamine, norep­i mephrine cortisol and glucagon were significantly higher than those in normal control. The lev­el of epmephrine was higher in diabetics but the diffierenee was not significant. The calorie m t take in diabetics was 1762$pm$292keal which is S1.4% lower than Korean recommended dietary a allowances(RDA). Calcium intake was slightly low but other nutrients intakeswere higher than R RDA. The value of fasting blood sugar(FBS), usual fasting blood sugar(usual FBS) which refteet a average FBS during 3 months and hemoglobin Al C in diabetics was 1S4.1S$pm$74.22mg/dl, 177.76$pm$42.77mg/dl and S.S4$pm$2.S2% respec디VeIy. The distribution of plasma amino acids in d diabetics was generally in the normal range. The leveI of anxiety in diabetics was positively cor­related with norepinephrine, concentration and usual FBS. The levels of glucagon, usual FBS a and hemoglobin Aj C were pOSI디veIy correlated with the branched chaimamino acid(BCM : leucme, isoleucme and valine)

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.25-29
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• 2015

Objectives: The pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) has not been fully elucidated. Oxidative stress might play a role in the development of RLS and other antipsychotic-induced side effects such as tardive dyskinesia. In the present study, we investigated whether the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms are associated with antipsychotic-induced RLS in schizophrenia. Methods: We assessed antipsychotic-induced RLS symptoms in 190 Korean schizophrenic patients using the diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. The GST-M1, GST-T1 and GST-P1 loci were analyzed using PCR-based methods. Results: We divided the subjects into 2 groups: those with RLS symptoms (n = 96) and those without RLS symptoms (n = 94). There were no significant differences in the distributions of the GST-M1 genotypes (${\chi}^2=3.56$, p = 0.059), GST-T1 (${\chi}^2=0.51$, p = 0.476) and GST-P1 (${\chi}^2=0.57$, p = 0.821) between the 2 groups. Comparison of the RLS score among genotypes of the GST-M1 (t = -1.54, p = 0.125), GST-T1 (t = -0.02, p = 0.985) and GST-P1 (F = 0.58, p = 0.560) revealed no significant difference. Conclusion: These data suggest that GST gene polymorphisms do not confer increased susceptibility to RLS symptoms in schizophrenic patients. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the possible influences of other candidate genes involved in the reactive oxygen species system.